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MrSSIOmiRY  TO   THE  ETHCHZMINS, 


A     TOUR 


BOTH  HEMISPHERES; 


OR, 


TRAVELS  AROUND    THE    WORLD. 


BY 
Rkv.  EUGENE  VETROMILE,  D.D., 

APOSTOLIC   MISSIONARY  ; 

Corresponding  Meiiibtr  of  the  Maine  Historical  Society  ;  Member  of  the  Nev: 

England  Historic-Genealogical  Society  ;  of  the  Nutnismatic  A  ntiquarian 

Society  of  Philadelphia  ;   of  the   York  Institute ;  Member  of  the 

Congres  International  des  Americanistes,  Etc.,  Etc. 


'  O  Lord  our  Lord,  how  admirable  is  thy  name  in  the  whole  earth  ! 
For  thy  ijiagnificence  is  elevated  above  the  heavens." — Psalm  viii. 


NEW  YORK: 

D.    &    J.    SADLIKR    &    CO.,    PUBLISHERS, 

31    barclay   street. 

Montreal  :  275  Notre  Dame  Street. 
1880. 


COPYRIGHT,   1880,  BY 

D.  &  J.  SADLIER  &  CO. 


TO  THEE, 

MOST    HOLY    MARY, 

IMMACULATK  VIRGIN, 

MOTHER 
OF    THE     CREATOR     AND     REDEEMER     OF     THE     WORLD, 

IS 

THIS   PLAIN   VOLUME    HUMBLY    DEDICATED, 

BY 

THY     UNWORTHY     SERVANT,     THE     AUTHOR. 

SWEET    MOTHER, 

WHO   PROTECTED   ME  AROUND  THIS   WORLD,    BE  ALSO   MY   GUIDE 
IN   MY   LAST  TRAVEL  TO   THE  NEXT   WORLD. 


^  444469 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Eastport — Philadelphia  —  Centennial  Exhibition — Pitts- 
burg— Sarnia — Canada — Lake  Huron — The  Hurons,    .         i 


CHAPTER    II. 

Mackinaw  Island — Indian  Religion — Sault  St.  Marie — 
Lake  Superior  —  A  Storm  on  Lake  Superior  —  Silver 
Island — Prince  Arthur  Landing  —  Fort  William  — 
Fond  Du  Lac  Landing — Duluth 13 


CHAPTER    III. 

St.  Paul — The  Mississippi — St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis- 
Minnesota — St  Peter — Sioux  Indians— Dakota — Sioux 
City — Missouri  River — Arrival  at  Omaha,  ...       36 


CHAPTER    IV 

Omaha  —  Re-checking  of  Baggage  for  San  Francisco  — 
Union  Pacific  Railroad — Prairie -Dog  City  —  Salt 
Lake  City — Mor.mons — Dom  Pedro,  Emperor  of  Brazil,       58 


CHAPTER    V. 

Ogden — Sierra  Nevada — Summit  Station — Cape  Horn  Sta- 
tion— Sacramento — Sax  Francisco — The  Chinese — De- 
parture for  the  Pacific  Ocean 76 

(V) 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Sandwich  Islands — Honolulu — Fire  Alarm— Crossing  the 
Line— Crossing  the  Sun— Navigators'  Islands — Meet- 
ing STEAMER  "City  of  Sydney" — Kandawa  —  Fiji  Isl- 
ands—Australia,          g6 

CHAPTER     VII. 

New  Zealand— Tasmania — Australia  in  general,  .        .  122 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Victoria — South  Australia— West  Australia— New  South 

Wales— Queensland 138 

CHAPTER     IX. 

Coral  Sea — Somerset — Count  Albertis — Missionary  Ship — 
Mother-of-Pearl  Fishery — New  Guinea— Story  about 
Men  with  Tails — The  Moluccas — Singapore,        .         .     162 

CHAPTER     X. 

Departure    for    China  —  Chinese  —  Philippine     Islands — 

Hong-Kong— Pearl  River— Canton 187 

CHAPTER    XI. 

CaNTCJN — COIltillHcd,         .........       2o3 

CHAPTER     XII. 

Macao — Departure   for  Cochin-China — Cambodia  River — 

Saigon — Siam — Singapore  again, 244 

CHAPTER     XIII. 

PoRTU(;uESE  Missions  in  Singapore,  and  India  in  general — 
Confirmation  by  the  Bishop  of  Macao  —  Concordat 
WITH  Portugal — Christmas  at  Singapore — Malacca — 
Penang  —  Sumatra — Acheen  —  Nicobar  Islands  —  Mal- 
DivE  Islands— Laccadive  Islands 258 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Ceylon — Point  de  Galles— Colombo — Candy  or  Kandy — 
Tooth  of  Buddha — Colombo  again — Remarks  on  Cey- 
lon— Sail  for  the  Continent  of  India — Landing  at 
TuTicoRiN 278 

CHAPTER     XV. 

Tuticorin — Madura — Trichinopoly — Tanjore,      .        .        .     300 

CHAPTER     XVI. 

Trichinopoly — Loss  of  my  Baggage — Great  Temple  at  Se- 
ringham — My  Baggage  found  at  Negapatam — Tanjor 
— Great  Temple — Crowned  with  Flowers  by  the  Ra- 
jah— Rajah's  Palace— Madras 319 

CHAPTER     XVII. 

Madras  —  Hotel  —  Festival  of  the  Mohammedans  —  St. 
Thomas'  Hill — Departure  for  Calcutta — The  Hoogly 
— Calcutta — Patna — Benares, 335 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Allahabad — C awnpore — Lucknow — Agra — Delhi — The  H  i- 

malaya  Mountains — Umbala — Simla,       ....     359 

CHAPTER     XIX. 

Lahore — Mooltan — Navigation  of  the  Indus — Kurachee 
— Persian  Gulf— Garden  of  Eden,  or  Terrestrial  Par- 
adise— Euphrates  and  Tigris — Bagdad,  ....     388 

CHAPTER     XX. 

Back  to  India  —  Bombay  —  Salsette  Island  —  Kanhery 
Caves — Temple  of  the  Fire — Tower  of  Silence — Ex- 
cavations OF  Elephanta 406 

CHAPTER     XXI. 
Religion  of  the  Hindoos 428 


via  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER     XXII. 

India   in   general — Manners  and   Customs — Ethnological 

Similarity  with  the  North  American  Indians,    .        .    448 

CHAPTER     XXIII. 

Sailing  for  Europe — -Aden — Red  Sea — Suez  Canal — Port 
Said — Mediterranean  Sea— Coasts  of  Calabria — Mes- 
sina—Naples,        464 

CHAPTER     XXIV. 

Visit  to  Italy — Passing  through  France — Emkakkation 
IN  Havre — Crossing  the  Atlantic — Arrival  in  New 
York 4S8 

Index, 495 


PREFACE. 


Thp:  principal  object  of  my  journey  through  the 
lakes  Huron  and  Superior  to  the  South  Pacific  Ocean, 
Australia,  China,  and  India,  was  the  investigation  of 
the  physiognomy,  character,  manners,  language,  and 
religion  of  the  natives.  To  do  this  it  was  not  suf- 
ficient to  see  them,  to  treat  with  them,  visit  their  vil- 
lages, camps,  observing  their  occupations  and  daily 
habits,  but  it  was  necessary  to  hold  conferences  on  these 
subjects  with  their  missionaries,  who,  having  spent  the 
best  of  their  days  and  sacrificed  their  lives  amongst 
them,  could  give  that  most  reliable  information  which  I 
desired.  By  comparison  with  the  North  American  na- 
tives, improperly  called  Indians,  I  may  hope  to  furnish 
an  additional  light  for  the  solution  of  the  question, 
"Whence  came  these  Indians?" 

Many  prominent  members  of  several  Historical  So- 
cieties have  often  urged  me  to  make  investigations 
upon  this  subject.  Lately  having  occasion  to  visit 
Italy,  and  being  required  to  attend  the  International 
Congress  of  Americanists  that  was  to  assemble  at  Lux- 
emburg on  the  loth  of  September,  1877,  I  resolved  to 
undertake  this  journey. 

For  the  most  part  the  reader  will  find  the  description 
of  what  I  myself  observed  ;  but  in  mentioning  histor- 
ical subjects,  describing  monuments  of  antiquity,  giving 

statistics  and  such  like,  I  have  used  other  authorities; 

(ix) 


X  PREFACE. 

and  I  have  been  careful  to  weigh  and  balance  testi- 
monies. To  enumerate  the  authors  thus  used  might  be 
too  tedious,  hence  I  here  acknowledge,  once  for  all, 
that  I  have  used  many,  and  some  very  largely.  I  take 
this  occasion  to  render  thanks  to  those  archbishops, 
bishops,  missionaries,  and  other  friends,  who  very  kindly 
not  only  offered  to  me  their  hospitality,  but  gave  me  all 
information,  instructions,  and  assistance  which  I  needed, 
in  order  to,  accomplish  the  object  of  my  journey,  and 
who  alleviated  the  fatigue  and  tedious  hours  which 
are  inseparable  from  a  long  peregrination  in  foreign 
countries. 

Maciiias,  Me.  E.  V. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Juggler, 

Father  de  Smet,  as  Missionary  t 

Indian  Council, 

The  Mormon  Tabernacle, 

Golden  Gate — California, 

Mission  Church— San  Francisco, 

The  Embarkation, 

Quarter-deck  at  Sea, 

Fiji  Kia  Cola 

King  of  the  Fiji  Islands, 

Fiji  Curiosities, 

Native  Police — New  Caledonia, 

The  Gap — South  Head,  Sydney, 

Residence  of  Mr.  Lansell, 

Mass  Celebrated  in  a  Shanty, 

Singapore,    . 

Hong-Kong, 

Chinese  Sampan, 

Whampoa,     . 

Canton, 

The  Great  Statue  of  Buddha, 

Street  Scene  in  Canton, 

A  Garden 

A  Chinese  Street  Scene, 
The  Temple  of  Horrors, 

Examination  Hali 

Chinese  Visiting, 

Chinese  Towers, 

Temple,  with  Tombs  of  the  Mikados,  a 

Macao, 

Grotto  di  Luis  Camokns,  in  Macao, 


o  THE  Indians, 


r  Kamakura 


(xi) 


Page 

15 
44 
46 
72 

83 
87 
90 

94 
109 
I II 

i'3 
116 
T19 
142 
171 
186 
198 
204 
206 
208 
209 
211 
215 
220 
22  c 
228 

239 
242 

243 
245 
248 


XII 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRA  TIONS. 


Lotus, 

Eden,  or  Terrestrial  Paradise, 
Temple  at  Seringham, 
Temple  at  Tanjor,  . 
Crowning  of  Rev.  E.  Vetromile, 
Cave  Temple, 

Madras 

Calcutta,     .... 
Benares,  from  the  Ganges, 
Taj  Mahal, 
Fort  of  Gwalior,  India, 

Delhi, 

Humajoon's  Tomb,  Delhi, 

KooTUB  MiNAR.  Delhi,  India 

Kowntislom, 

Bhayulpore, 

Bombay, 

Parsee  Woman, 

Cave  Temple,  Island  of  Elephan 

Cave  Temple  at  Karli, 

Garrow  Max, 

A  Caravan, 

Anchored  at  Night, 

Mosque, 

Shepherd's  Hotel,  Cairo 

Suez  Canal,  at  Ismailia, 

A  Street  in  Cairo,    . 

The  Rialto,  Venice, 

Milan  Cathedral,     . 

Venice, 

St.  Peter's,  Vatican, 

Baptistery  at  Pisa, 

Cathedral  at  Pisa,  . 

Castle  of  San  Angelo, 

Night  at  Sea, 


TA, 


Ind; 


A  TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


CHAPTER     I. 

EASTPORT  —  PHILADELPHIA  —  CENTENNIAL    EXHIBITION  —  PITTSliURG  — 
SARNIA — CANADA — LAKE   HURON — THE   HURONS. 

It  was  on  the  beautiful  afternoon  of  Friday,  the  i  ith 
day  of  August,  1876,  that  I  embarked  for  Portland  in  one 
of  the  steamers  of  the  International  Steamship  Co.  The 
sky,  although  hazy,  was  clear  of  fog  and  without  clouds. 
The  air  was  warm,  soft,  and  moist,  yet  pleasant  withal. 
On  account  of  the  low  tides,  which  here  rise  over  forty 
feet,  and  further  east  in  this  Bay  of  Fundy,-'  at  the  head 
of  the  north-eastern  arm,  called  Chignccto  Channel,  rise 
sixty  feet — the  highest  tides  in  the  world — the  steamer 
was  obliged  to  go  round  the  British  island  Canipobcllo, 
thus  lengthening  the  trip  by  a  full  hour.  We  steamed 
between  the  picturesque  shores  of  the  Harbor-dc-hitc 
and  Indian  Island,  Pope's  Nose  and  other  romantic 
British  islands  frequented  by  the  Passamaqnoddy  In- 
dians when  engaged  in  spearing  and  shooting  porpoises. 
We  rounded  Harbor's  Head,  near,  and  in  sight  of,  the 
Wolves — four  dangerous,  small  islands,  the  dread  of 
navigators,  especially  in  fogs.  They  are  so  called  on  ac- 
count of  the  many  different  currents,  which  compel  tlie 
unwatchful  mariner  to  dash  as^ainst  them.     The  drearv 


*  Fundy  (comes  from  the  Latin,  Fodinaruin :  "of  the  mines") 
called  formerly  by  the  French  Baye  Francaisc — F.  Ducroux'  map  of 
New  France,  1660. 


2  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  If  EMI  SPHERES. 

and  barren  rocky  shores  on  the  right,  and  the  high,  wall- 
like  barrier  of  Grand  Manhan  Island,  present  nothing 
very  attractive,  except  the  three  high  mountains  of 
Mount  Desert  Island  majestically  extending  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  into  the  ocean.  The  sun  had  already 
set  in  a  bank  of  fog,  which  foretold  a  rough  night.  At 
5  A.M.  we  landed  at  Portland,  and  being  known  to  the 
Customs  officers,  I  was  sj)ared  the  trouble  of  opening 
my  baggage.  I  went  to  Biddeford  to  see  some  of  my 
friends,  and  from  thence  to  Exeter  (New  Hampshire)  to 
visit  my  old  friend,  the  pastor  of  that  congregation, 
Rev.  Michael  Lucey.'^' 

It  would  have  been  an  unpardonable  error  to  have 
left  the  United  States  for  a  two  years'  trip  around 
the  world  without  visiting  the  Centennial  Exhibition  ; 
therefore,  after  spending  one  day  in  Boston,  to  cele- 
brate the  festival  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  into  heaven,  and  having  said  mass  in  the  church 
of  the  Jesuits,  F.  F.,  and  dined  with  them,  I  proceeded 
to  Philadelphia,  where  I  put  up  at  Mr.  Prowler's  first- 
class  hotel,  being  warmly  welcomed  by  my  old  acquaint- 
ances, the  officers  of  that  establishment. 

The  Exhibition  was  well  worth  visiting,  and  although 
laboring  under  many  disadvantages,  it  gave  convincing 
evidence  of  the  wonderful  energy  displayed  by  the 
American  people  —  the  most  go-ahead  nation  in  the 
world — -and  of  the  capacity,  as  well  as  the  indomitable 
perseverance,  of  the  gentlemen  conducting  it.  The 
Main  Hall  was  admirably  proportioned,  the  coup  d\vii 
being  truly  magnificent.  The  Government  exhibit 
was  extensive  and  complete,  and  the  Agricultural  dc- 


*  This  worthy  and  zealous  missionary  died  on  the  24th  of  July,  iSyS. 
He  had  worked  very  hard  in  this  diocese.  He  built  the  handsome 
churches  at  Great  Fall,  Salmon  Falls,  and  Exeter,  \.  II  ,  and  at  Lewis- 
ton,  in  Maine  ;  all  of  bricks. 


CENTE.WyrAT.  EXHTBITIOy.  3 

partment  decidedly  superior  to  that  of  the  Paris  Exhi- 
bition in  1867.  The  officials  were  very  polite  and  oblig- 
ing ;  and  the  police,  gentlemanly  and  effective,  no  mat- 
ter what  has  been  said  to  the  contrary.  Not  only  on 
the  grounds  of  the  Exhibition,  and  at  all  hours,  but  in 
the  city,  day  and  night,  the  police  performed  their  duty 
with  satisfaction  and  politeness. 

Yet  the  Exhibition  had  its  faults.  In  every  hall  and 
department  one  could  see  a  want  of  unity;  and  objects 
which  belonged  to  some  especial  department,  scattered 
in  other  halls.  One  thing  I  could  not  pass  over  without 
protest.  In  the  center  of  the  principal  hall,  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world  were  represented  by  symbols.  Eu- 
rope was  symbolized  by  Shakespeare  and  Charlemagne; 
America,  by  Washington  and  Franklin  ;  Asia,  by  Con- 
fucius and  Mohammed ;  Africa,  by  Ramcses  and  Sesos- 
tris.  This  selection  of  symbols  should  not  be  allowed 
to  pass  without  a  protest  from  the  public.  I  leave  it  to 
the  disinterested  judgment  of  the  learned  whether 
Europe  and  America  could  not  have  been  better  repre- 
sented by  superior  and  more  characteristic  symbols.  But 
let  us  pass  to  Asia.  Here  a  Christian  nation  prefers 
Paganism  and  the  Koran  to  the  Bible.  But  let  it  go. 
Africa  represented  by  Sesostris  and  Rameses !  What  a 
blunder  and  show  of  ignorance!  Sesostris  and  Rame- 
ses are  the  same  identical  person,  and  not  two  distinct 
individuals.  Sesostris,  King  of  Eg}'pt,  was  also  called 
Scthos  and  Svihosis,  and  his  royal  name  was  Rameses  or 
Ramses.  It  would  amount  to  the  same  as  to  say  Alex- 
ander and  the  Czar,  Victor  Emanuel  and  the  King,  and 
such  like. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Saturday  I  left  for  the  City  of 
Vulcan — -Pittsburg — named  after  the  first  William  Pitt, 
in  1765,  where  I  arrived  at  8^  A.M.,  and  put  up  at  the 
Union  Depot  Hotel.     Being  .Sunday,  I  celel^rated  Mass 


4  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

at  the  Cathedral,  and  breakfasted  with  the  good  bishop, 
Rt.  Rev.  T.  Tuigg,  D.D.,  who  wanted  me  absolutely  to 
stop  and  dine  with  him  ;  but  as  I  expected  to  start  for 
Detroit  early  in  the  afternoon,  I  was  reluctantly  com- 
pelled to  decline  the  hospitality  of  this  saintly  prelate. 
After  dinner  I  learned  that  the  train  by  which  I  purposed 
traveling  was  only  a  local  one,  and  that  I  would  be 
obliged  to  stop  on  the  way  for  the  through  train,  which 
was  to  leave  Pittsburg  upon  the  following  morning,  so 
I  elected  to  remain  where  I  was.  Being  Sunday,  there 
was  no  smoke  in  the  city,  and  I  was  thus  allowed  to  see 
the  place  without  being  condemned  to  turn  black^ — a 
privilege  reserved  only  for  Sundays.  Yet  the  walls, 
houses,  stores,  etc.,  outside,  gave  unmistakable  evidence 
that  they  were  under  the  dominion  of  Vulcaiius.  This 
is  due  to  the  pit  coal  used  not  only  in  the  numerous 
manufactories,  but  also  in  the  houses,  its  smoke  and 
dust  giving  a  general  dinginess  of  appearance  to  this 
city.  This  coal  is  so  abundant  in  the  hills  in  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  of  the  town,  that  it  hardly  costs 
more  than  the  out-digging.  Pittsburg  is  located  on  a 
point  of  land  where  the  Alleghany  and  the  Mononga- 
hcla  join  to  form  the  Ohio,  and  on  the  point  of  junc- 
tion the  French  built  a  fort  called  Du  Qncsnc,  afterward 
named  Fort  Pitt.  In  Pittsburg  and  around,  there  are 
a  hundred  collcries,  about  four  hundred  and  fift}-  fac- 
tories for  iron,  and  sixty  oil  works,  where  petroleum  is 
refined  for  exportation.  Here  the  first  oil  well  was 
opened  in  1857.     The  population  is  200,000. 

In  the  morning  I  left  for  Detroit,  and  I  was  both  de- 
lighted and  surprised  to  see  the  numerous  vineyards  in 
Ohio.  The  land  is  well  cultivated,  affording  a  goodly 
sight  to  the  traveler,  yet  the  traveling  on  this  road,  es- 
pecially in  summer,  is  very  distressing  on  account  of 
the  smoke  and  dust  of  the  pit  coal  used  by  the  engine. 


DETROIT— SARNIA— LAKE  HURON. 


5 


In  changing  cars,  I  found  all  seats  occupied  except  one 
by  the  side  of  a  lady,  who  did  not  seem  inclined  to 
share  it,  but  was  endeavoring  to  look  through  the  win- 
dow to  avoid  observing  my  search  for  a  place.  "  Mad- 
am," I  observed,  "  is  this  seat  not  occupied  ?  "  ''  Well," 
she  replied,  "  I  guess  not,"  But  she  did  not  move  an 
inch.  "As  there  is  no  other  vacant,  I  must  take  it." 
Slowly  and  reluctantly  she  commenced  to  remove  bun- 
dles from  the  unoccupied  seat.  I  was  likewise  embar- 
rassed with  other  parcels.  Yet  perceiving  her  to  be  un- 
comfortable with  so  many  packages,  I  offered  to  take 
charge  of  some  of  them,  and  as  if  to  apologize  and  as  a 
peace-offering,  she  presented  me  with  a  peach. 

At  eleven  o'clock  at  night  we  arrived  at  Detroit, 
where  I  stopped  at  the  Cass  House,  a  very  good 
first  -  class  hotel.  After  a  fine  night's  rest  and  a 
good  breakfast,*  I  left  for  Canada  at  8.30  A.M.. 
and  at  11.30  A.M.  we  were  at  Sarnia.  Here  at  the  Ca- 
nadian Custom  House  our  baggage  was  to  be  visced, 
and  I  must  acknowledge  the  politeness  of  the'  officers 
who  examined  the  trunks.  Having  declared  myself  to 
be  a  tourist  for  Lake  Superior,  and  again  returning  to 
the  States,  my  trunk  and  valise  were  never  even  opened. 
Sarnia,  or  Fort  Sarnia,  as  it  is  also  called,  is  a  small,  mis- 
erable village  on  the  Canadian  side,  opposite  Port  Huron, 
across  St.  Clair  Riverf ,  and  at  the  entrance  of  Lake  Hu- 
ron. The  fine  and  commodious  lake  steamer,  Otitario, 
on  which  I  was  to  visit  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior, was  not  to  leave  Sarnia  till  next  morning  at  two 
o'clock,  so  the  passengers  were  obliged  to  spend  the 
long  and  tiresome  hours  in  this  miserable  place,  having 
nothing  to  see  and  nothing  to  do.     Early  in  the  morn- 


*  My  bill,  all  included,  amounted  only  to  one  dollar. 
■j-  Originally  called  Huron  River. 


6  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

ing  we  entered  Lake  Huron.  Our  company  numbered 
twenty-five,  nearly  all  tourists,  except  two  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries en  route  for  Fort  William,  one  of  the  trading 
posts  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  a  few  for  dif- 
ferent landings  on  the  north  shore,  especially  for  Prince 
Arthur  Landing.  The  ladies  numbered  half  a  doz- 
en. The  company  was  very  agreeable  and  sociable. 
I  had  on  another  occasion  navigated  this  famous  and 
historical  lake,  every  rock  and  inlet  of  which  is  rendered 
historic  by  narratives  of  the  red  man  and  of  the  Cath- 
olic missionaries,  many  of  whom  sacrificed  their  lives  in  a 
most  heroic  manner  in  their  efforts  for  the  conversion 
of  the  Indians.  Lake  Huron,  so  called  from  the  river  of 
that  name,  now  the  St.  Clair,  is  one  of  the  five  great 
lakes  of  North  America,  and  it  is  two  hundred  and 
eighteen  miles  long,  from  east  to  west,  one  hundred  and 
eighty  miles  broad,  and  very  irregular  in  form.  The 
water  is  excellent  for  drinking  purposes,  and  abounds 
in  white-fish,  trout,  and  species  similar  to  those  of 
Lake  Superior.  The  land  in  some  parts  of  the  banks  is 
rich,  but  in  others  it  is  sandy.  A  8  A.M.  we  were  at 
Goderich,  a  port  on  the  Huron,  on  the  Canadian  side. 
The  Ontario  stopped  two  hours — a  sufficient  time  to 
enable  us  to  visit  the  town  and  become  tired  of  it.  At 
2.30  P.M.  we  landed  at  Kinkardine,  another  miserable 
town  on  the  shore,  and  after  two  more  weary  hours, 
arrived  at  Southampton,  a  small  port  on  the  same  side. 
While  coasting  the  eastern  shores  of  Lake  Huron, 
called  by  the  French  naval  officer,  Samuel  de  Champlain, 
Sweet  Sea,  perhaps  in  contradistinction  to  the  Ste. 
Clair's  Lake,  called  Lake  of  Sea  Water,  I  could  not  con- 
trol my  mind  from  flying  back  to  the  time  when  the 
powerful  Indian  nation  called  Huron  inhabited  the 
southern  and  eastern  shores  of  this  Mediterranean  Sea. 
It  is  true  that  they  cultivated  very  little  land  ;  but  the 


THE  HURONS.  7 

woods  furnished  them  with  plenty  of  venison  and  game 
of  every  description,  while  the  lake  was  continually  fur- 
rowed by  picturesque  canoes  in  search  of  white-fish, 
trout,  pickerel,  and  other  finny  delicacies  with  which 
this  lake  is  abundantly  stocked.  They  had  many  vil- 
lages, especially  amongst  the  islands  and  on  the  shores 
of  the  Georgian  Bay.  Some  authors  name  over  thirty 
villages  belonging  to  the  Hurons.  A  little  further  north- 
east was  the  flourishing  mission  of  St.  Francis  ;  and 
passing  Southampton  toward  Cape  Hurd,  I  beheld  in 
fancy  the  modest  chapel  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  where 
the  Hurons  of  yore  used  to  offer  their  prayers  to  the 
Kctchi  Manitu  (the  Great  Spirit)  for  a  successful  hunt- 
ing excursion.  Oh  !  where  is  that  famous  Fort  Ste. 
Mary,  with  its  extensive  hospital  for  the  Hurons,  where, 
when  sick,  they  never  applied  for  succor  in  vain,  and 
were  entertained  and  instructed  !  You  can  see  to  this 
day  the  places  where  Father  Gabriel  Lallemant  and 
Father  Brebeuf  were  burnt  alive  by  the  savage  Iroquois, 
sworn  enemies  of  the  Hurons  and  French.  These  called 
the  Hurons  their  fathers;  and,  in  fact,  they  were  de- 
scended from  them,  yet  they  hated  the  Hurons  to  such 
a  degree  that  they  were  determined  never  to  desist  from 
persecuting  them  till  they  had  quenched  their-  savage 
thirst  with  their  blood,  torn  their  flesh,  scalped  them, 
eaten  them  living  or  dead,  and  accomplished  the  total 
extermination  of  their  country  and  people.  Indeed, 
after  having  burned  their  villages  on  the  shores  of  this 
lake,  and  slaughtered  the  sick,  old,  the  women,  and  the 
children,  they  massacred  a  large  number  of  those  who 
tried  to  find  safety  in  flying.  A  number  went  to  Quebec 
for  protection.  Even  there,  the  Iroquois  followed  them 
under  the  very  guns  of  the  fort. 

Our  steamer  coasted   the  western   shore  of  the  great 
Manitulin  Island,  as  it  is  now  called.     Its  former  name 


8  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

was  Ekacntatow,  and  also  island  of  the  Utazvaks  (Ot- 
tawas).  When  the  Iroquois  exterminated  the  Huron 
territory,  burnt  the  villages  and  massacred  the  inhabit- 
ants, the  Hurons  determined  rather  to  abandon  their 
country  than  to  perish  by  the  fire  and  knife  of  the 
Iroquois.  Some  went  to  Quebec,  as  I  said  above  ; 
others  delivered  themselves  to  the  Iroquois — -their  ene- 
mies, appealing  to  their  generosity,  and  were  received 
by  the  Senecas,  and,  as  captives,  were  dispersed  in  dif- 
ferent villages ;  others  went  to  the  Island  of  Michili- 
viakinac,  or  Mackinazv,  an  island  situated  on  the  straits 
of  that  name,  famous  for  the  mythological  traditions 
of  the  Indians  ;  others  went  as  far  as  the  sud-west  cor- 
ner of  Lake  Superior,  and  were  well  received  by  a  tribe 
called  Abimiwec.     This  took  place  in  1650. 

A  great  portion,  however,  sought  asylum  on  the  isl- 
ands north  of  Lake  Huron,  and  especially  on  the  Mani- 
tulin  Island,  the  largest  of  all,  a  barren  and  desolate 
solitude.  All  put  their  hands  to  work,  and  it  took 
eight  months  to  form  a  village  and  to  erect  a  small 
chapel.  They  thought  to  find  rest  and  peace  in  this 
inhospitable  wilderness.  These  unfortunate  children  of 
the  forest,  self-exiled  in  order  to  be  at  a  distance  from 
their  enemies,  fancied  that  the  bloody  Iroquois  would 
never  dream  of  disturbing  them  in  this  remote  island. 
But  they  were  grievously  mistaken.  They  did  not  re- 
main long  in  peace.  Some  of  the  Iroquois  succeeded 
in  discovering  that  a  portion  of  the  fugitive  Hurons  had 
retired  into  the  woods  of  this  Manitulin  Island.  In  the 
autumn,  these  brutish  Indians,  perccixing  that,  owing 
to  inferiority  in  point  of  number  to  the  Hurons,  they 
could  not  conquer  them,  devised  a  plan  to  decoy, 
and  so  massacre,  them.  Without  leaving  their  post  of 
observation,  they  were  looking  for  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity.    They  constructed  a  small  fort  on  a  poiut  in  the 


THE  JIURONS.  Q 

mainland  nearest  to  Manitulin  Island,  from  which  with 
less  danger  to  observe  the  movements  of  the  Hurons, 
who,  also,  in  their  turn,  were  very  watchful  on  the 
island. 

They  succeeded  in  surprising  some  Hurons,  whom 
they  made  prisoners.  Amongst  these  was  one  called 
Etienne  Annaotaha,  distinguished  for  his  wisdom,  cour- 
age, and  piety.  He  commenced  to  defend  himself 
in  order  to  sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  possible,  and  die 
like  a  brave  man.  But  what  was  his  astonishment 
in  hearing  the  Iroquois  saying,  "We  are  not  here  as 
your  enemies,  but  we  are  come  with  presents  to  make 
peace ;  to  offer  a  peaceful  and  safe  asylum  to  the  lan- 
guishing remnants  of  their  nation.  Of  our  two  peoples, 
we  will  make  but  only  one,  who  will  inherit  the  glory 
that  each  of  them  has  acquired." 

The  Huron,  crafty  as  well  as  his  enemy,  suspected 
some  deception  in  this  generous  and  hypocritical  lan- 
guage, but  in  the  presence  of  such  an  enemy,  he  saw 
no  other  alternative  but  to  play  cunning  against  cun- 
ning. He  pretended  to  accede  with  joy  to  this  propo- 
sition, laid  down  his  arms  and  entered  the  fort.  The 
Iroquois  showed  him  the  presents  in  question,  in  order 
to  engage  him  to  make  them  prevail  in  the  eyes  of 
his  compatriots.  "  It  does  not  become  me,"  replied 
Etienne,  "to  usurp  the  glory  of  such  happy  treaty. 
We  have  amongst  us  a  number  of  old  people ;  it  is  for 
them  to  take  charge  of  the  administration  of  public 
affairs.  Send  them  ambassadors  with  your  presents.  I 
will  remain  here  as  hostage.  The  nation  will  submit  to 
what  they  shall  decide." 

This  reply  was  so  artful,  that  the  Iroquois  believed 
that  he  was  sincere  in  his  speech.  "  It  is  better,"  they 
replied,  "  that  you  yourself  would  accompany  the  am- 
bassadors to  cause  this  project  to  prevail  amongst  your 
I* 


lO  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

people.  Your  companions  shall  remain  here  as  hos- 
tages." 

He  accompanied  the  three  Iroquois  ambassadors. 
When  they  approached  the  Huron  village  he  gave  a 
cry  of  joy,  and  all  the  warriors  came  out.  "  Heaven  is 
in  our  favor,"  he  said  to  them.  "  We  have  found  life  in 
death.  The  Iroquois  have  changed  in  our  favor.  From 
enemies  they  have  become  our  friends,  our  relations, 
and  our  liberators.  They  have  dug  our  grave  ;  behold 
those  who  will  close  it  again.  They  offer  to  us  their 
friendship,  a  portion  of  their  fields,  and  a  country  more 
fertile  than  this  barren  soil.  We  are  no  more  to  form 
but  only  one  large,  industrious,  and  martial  people." 

His  speech,  full  of  assurance,  removed  all  suspicions. 
At  the  same  time  the  other  Huron  chiefs,  not  believing 
what  they  had  heard,  tried  to  interview  him  in  secret, 
to  find  out  the  explanation  of  this  mystery.  He  had 
time  to  instruct  them  upon  his  plan,  and  they  in  their 
turn  concealing  with  subtlety  the  sentiments  of  their 
heart,  gave  cries  of  joy,  and  excited  the  gladness  and 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  women  and  children. 

The  Iroquois  ambassadors  took  these  joyous  demon- 
strations for  good  augury,  and  believed  that  they  were 
sure  of  their  success.  They  were  carried  to  the  largest 
wigwam  and  treated  with  a  great  feast. 

Etienne  cunningly  took  advantage  of  this  moment  to 
concert  his  plans  with  the  Huron  chiefs.  Not  wishing 
to  trust  such  sworn  enemies,  often  proved  perfidious, 
they  artfully  decided  to  seize  hold  of  the  Iroquois 
and  kill  them. 

Now,  in  order  to  impose  upon  the  ambassadors,  the 
chiefs  announced  with  a  loud  voice,  that  in  three  days 
they  must  be  ready  to  start  and  follow  the  Iroquois — 
their  allies  and  friends.  "We  will  find  amongst  them," 
they  said,  ''  safety,  rest,  and  abundance." 


THE  HURONS.  1 1 

This  language  was  everywhere  resounding  to  the  ears 
of  the  Iroquois,  who  beheld  men,  women,  and  children  in 
great  anxiety  to  put  this  plan  into  execution.  Etienne 
did  not  hesitate  to  return  to  the  fort  of  the  Iroquois, 
and  announce  to  them  his  success. 

At  the  sight  of  a  prey  so  much  desired,  and  which 
was  to  fall  into  their  hands  without  combat,  the  Iroquois 
could  not  refrain  from  praising  his  dexterity,  and  giv- 
ing him  the  greatest  marks  of  friendship.  Under  his 
invitation  they  did  not  even  hesitate,  in  number  of  over 
thirty,  to  go  in  order  to  see  with  their  own  eyes  the 
preparations  of  this  supposed  voyage,  and  by  their 
presence  to  encourage  the  activity  and  the  good-will  of 
their  future  compatriots. 

While  they  were  scattered  in  the  village  without  any 
suspicion,  the  Hurons,  at  a  given  signal,  precipitated 
themselves  upon  them  and  massacred  all,  except  only 
three,  whose  lives  were  saved  by  Etienne,  in  recom- 
pense for  the  benefit  which  he  had  received  from  these 
three  on  a  former  occasion.  They  had  saved  his  life 
when  the  Iroquois  had  destroyed  the  villages  of  St. 
Ignatius  and  of  St.  Louis. 

One  of  the  Iroquois,  in  dying,  said:  "We  have  had 
the  luck  that  we  deserve ;  you  have  treated  us  as 
we  had  designed  to  treat  you."  At  this  news,  the 
Iroquois  remaining  in  the  fort  ran  away.  The  Hurons 
remained  in  peace  for  some  time,  but  fearing  a  reprisal 
from  the  Iroquois,  left  this  island  and  joined  the  others 
at  Quebec.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  between 
the  French  and  the  Iroquois,  the  Hurons  returned  to 
this  Manitulin  Island,  where  they  live  in  peace,  being 
very  industrious  in  cultivating  the  island,  and  in  fishing, 
while  they  also  raise  cattle.  Their  principal  village  in 
this  island  is  Wickvvemikong,  where  there  is  a  church 
dedicated  to  the  Invention  of  the  Holy  Cross.     There 


12 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


are  three  or  four  resident  priests  belonging  to  tlic  Vi- 
cariate-Apostolic  of  Northern  Canada.  These  priests 
attend  also  the  missions  along  the  Georgian  Bay,  the 
missions  of  Lake  Nipissing,  and  others  on  the  Cana- 
dian coast.  In  Wickwemikong  there  is  a  school  for 
boys,  the  average  attendance  being  i  lo,  and  another  for 
girls  frequented  by  about  140  pupils. 


CHAPTER    II. 

MACKINAW  ISLAND — INDIAN  RELIGION — SAULT  ST.  MARIE — LAKE  SU- 
PERIOR— A  STORM  ON  LAKE  SUPERIOR — SILVER  ISLAND — PRINCE 
ARTHUR  LANDING — FORT  WILLIAM — FOND  DU  LAC  LANDING — DU- 
LUTH. 

The  Ontario  rounded  Coolbun  Island,  leaving  to 
the  left  that  of  Mackinaw,  the  famous  sanctuarium  of 
Indian  rites,  and  superstition,  and  mythology.  It  was 
the  sacred  rendezvous  of  the  Ottawas,  Hurons,  Chippe- 
was,  and  Algonquins  of  Lake  Superior.  It  is  true  that 
these  Northern  Indians  had  no  temples,  no  priesthood, 
no  holy-days,  and  no  public  prayers  and  rites ;  yet  they 
were  far  from  being  atheistic  or  without  religion.  They 
were  not  even  idolaters.  They  invoked  the  sun  very  often, 
but  by  this  invocation  they  only  recognized  in  it  the 
figure,  or  rather  the  representation  of  an  invisible  Su- 
preme Being  that  sees,  illuminates,  gives  life,  and  regu- 
lates everything.  On  an  occasion  of  a  murder  com- 
mitted amongst  the  Hurons,  this  was  their  address  to 
the  sun :  "  It  was  a  demon  that  placed  the  tomahawk 
into  the  hands  of  the  assassin.  It  is  thou,  O  sun,  that 
didst  push  him  to  a  crime  so  fatal.  Why  didst  thou 
not  refuse  thy  light,  in  order  to  give  himself  horror  of 
his  wicked  deed?  Perhaps  thou  wast  his  accomplice? 
Certainly  not,  because  he  was  walking  in  the  darkness, 
and  knew  not  w  here  he  was  going." 

In  the  same  manner  they  apostrophise  heaven,  calling 
it  in  witness  of  their  valor,  innocence,  etc.  They  not 
onl)'  call  on  the  sun  and  heax'cn  to  bear  witness  to  their 

(13) 


14  ^    rOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

treaties,  and  the  sincerity  of  their  hearts  in  forming  and 
signing  them,  but  nearly  always  invoke  the  Creator  of 
heaven  in  their  feasts,  and  ask  of  him  health,  long  life, 
happy  success  in  hunting,  fishing,  in  the  war,  and  in 
trading.  Yet  they  believe  that  the  genius  who  created 
heaven,  is  different  from  him  w^ho  created  the  earth 
and  from  him  who  created  hell.  This  last  one  is  sup- 
posed by  them  to  dwell  in  the  north,  and  to  send  snow 
and  cold.  They  also  recognize  seven  other  geniuses 
living  in  the  air,  and  to  them  they  attribute  the  seven 
different  winds  that  prevail  in  these  localities.  They 
admit  another  genius  who  presides  over  the  waters,  and 
to  whom  is  attributed  the  cause  of  storms  and  ship- 
wreck. 

Notwithstanding  this,  on  particular  occasions  they  in- 
voke a  God  unknoivn;  they  do  not  know  who  this  God 
is,  but  they  have  a  proper  name  for  him  ;  they  say, 
Aircskui  sutanditcitr.  The  nearest  translation  may  be, 
"  Spirit,  have  mercy  on  me."  Is  not  this  the  prayer  which 
Marcus  Tullius  Cicero  made  when  at  the  point  of  death, 
when  he  said.  Causa  caiisaruni,  viiscrcrc  viei  (Cause  of 
causes,  have  mercy  on  me)?  Is  not  this  the  Dcus  Igno- 
tiis  found  by  St.  Paul  among  the  Athenians? 

They  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  in  the 
existence  of  two  places  located  in  the  west,  one  full  of 
happiness,  the  other  miserable  and  full  of  woe,  but  these 
are  mixed  with  fables  like  those  of  the  Grecian  and 
Latin  mythology.  They  believx'  in  the  existence  of 
good  and  bad  spirits.  They  can  not  properly  be  said  to 
be  idolaters,  because  they  do  not  worship  as  idolaters, 
but  they  offer  them  several  sacrifices,  consisting  of  throw- 
ing in  the  fire  or  into  the  water,  some  pieces  of  tobacco 
or  of  fat  of  their  feasts  in  order  to  render  the  good 
spirits  favorable,  or  to  gain  over  tlie  bad  spirits  so  that 
they  should  not  harm  them.     Some  of  the  Algonquin 


INDIAN  RELIGION. 


15 


tribes  believed  that  all  species  of  animals  came  from 
one  primitive  animal,  which  was  the  origin  and  principle 
of  all  other  animals^  and  supposed,  although  not  certain, 
that  the  firsts  of  birds  were  in  heaven,  and  the  firsts  of 
the  other  animals  were  in  the  water.  Thus  they  con- 
ceive that  all  beavers  came  from  one  primitive  beaver, 
which  they  fancy  to  resemble  a  large  wigwam.  Any 
one  who  in  a  dream  saw  a  primitive  animal,  was  very 
lucky  in  hunting  the  animals  of  this  species. 

Their  superstition  had  no  bounds  especially  in  case  of 
sickness,  and  in  regard  to  the  jugglers  and  medicine  men- 
They  distinguished  three  kinds  of  sickness:  ist.  Nat- 
ural, produced  by  natural  causes  and  cured  with  physi- 
cal natural  remedies.  2d,  Maladies  of  the  soul  origi- 
nating from  ardent  desires,  and  cured  by  gratifying 
the  desires  of  the  spirit  and  heart.  3d,  The  third  were 
caused  by  jugglers,  and  could  not  be  cured  except  by  ex- 
tracting the  evil  from  the  body  of  the  sick  man.  They 
believed  that  the  true  desires  of  the  soul  are  manifested 
in  a  dream,  hence  their  great  care  to  study  their  dreams, 
and  to  satisfy  them.  They  obeyed  their  dreams  even 
at  the  price  of  their  blood,  and  when  the  dreams  re- 
quired it,  they  even  mutilated  their  members,  thereby 
suffering  the  most  intense  pain.  A  chief  dreamed 
that  he  had  been  caught  by  his  enemies,  and  that  he 
had  cut  off  one  of  his  fingers  with  a  knife.  The  jug- 
glers then  decided  that  he  should  cut  off  one  of  his 
fingers.  He  made  a  great  feast,  and  while  the  tribe 
was  feasting  he  recited  his  dream,  cut  off  one  of  his 
fingers  with  a  shell,  undergoing  as  he  did  so,  the  most 
excruciating  torments,  in  order  to  obey  the  dream. 
When  they  dream  of  some  distant  object,  they  think 
that  the  rational  soul  (not  the  sensitive,  which  can  not 
leave  the  body)  leaves  the  body  to  fly  to  the  place  of 
that  object. 


1 6  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

They  believe  that  there  is  a  class  of  people  superior 
to  others,  who  can  read  the  most  secret  desires  of  the 
soul.  They  are  called  Ondi)monk,  and  are  believed  to 
discover  the  sickness,  and  cure  the  sick  by  virtue  of  a 
peculiar  genius  called  Oki,  dwelling  in  them,  after  hav- 
ing seen  it  in  a  dream  or  awake,  observe  it  under  the 
form  of  an  eagle,  crow,  or  such  like  animal.  It  is  sur- 
prising to  see  the  deceptions  practiced  by  these  wicked 
impostors  when  they  impose  upon  the  people  to  make 
them  believe  that  they  discover  and  read  their  desires. 
They  look  on  a  vessel  full  of  water,  while  they  feign  to 
be  in  a  trance,  just  like  the  so-called  spiritual  mediums 
of  our  days,  who  impose  so  much  upon  the  verdant  and 
ignorant,  and  those  who  like  to  be  duped  by  them. 
Like  the  Sybils  of  old,  they  appear  frantic,  they  con- 
ceal themselves  in  dark,  solitary  places,  and  there  they 
pretend  to  discover  the  images  of  the  desires  of  the 
suffering  soul.  When  these  desires  are  discovered,  no- 
body dares  to  refuse  what  is  asked,  even  if  they  embrace 
valuable  objects,  presents,  feasts,  immodest  dances,  and 
even  criminal  things.  A  refusal  is  considered  an  im- 
piety and  sacrilege,  and  several  missionaries  have  been 
in  danger  of  their  lives  for  having  declined  to  join  them 
in  these  superstitions.  Sometimes  they  take  small 
stones,  pieces  of  wood  concealed  in  their  hands,  and 
dupe  the  sick,  making  them  believe  that  it  was  the  evil 
extracted  from  their  bodies.  When  the  sick  man  is 
not  cured,  they  say  that  there  is  yet  another  devil,  and 
they  use  further  remedies.  When  the  sick  man  dies, 
they  say  that  he  was  killed  by  the  devil,  who  was 
stronger  and  more  powerful  than  the}'. 

The  superstition  of  the  Indians  is  incredible.  If 
they  happen  to  find  in  a  tree,  or  in  the  earth,  a  stone  of 
a  peculiar  form,  for  instance  resembling  a  plate,  or  in 
the   shape  of  a  spoon,  vase,  etc.,  they  consider  this  to 


INDIAN  RELIGION. 


17 


be  a  good  omen,  because  they  say  that  the  devils  Hv- 
ing  in  these  woods  have  forgotten  these  objects,  and 
those  who  find  them  will  be  lucky  in  hunting,  fishing, 
trading,  and  playing.  If  in  pursuing  a  deer,  bear,  or 
other  animal  they  succeed  in  reaching  it,  and  find  in  its 
stomach,  bowels,  or  head,  some  little  stone,  piece  of 
wood,  a  snake,  they  sa}^  that  it  was  an  oki  (a  genius) 
which  gave  strength  to  the  animal,  and  which  protected 
it  from  being  killed.  They  believe  that  these  demons 
often  change  form,  turning  into  a  snake,  claw-nails  of 
an  eagle,  beak  of  a  raven,  etc.  Their  credulity  in  this 
multitude  of  witchcrafts  and  magics  is  such,  that  on  a 
simple  suspicion,  they  would  kill  or  burn  on  the  field 
their  own  patriots,  on  the  simple  reason  that  a  dying 
man  had  asserted  that  he  had  been  bewitched,  and 
stroked  to  death  by  him.  The  only  proof  being  the 
Ondinnonk  or  a  dream. 

Their  superstition  is  still  greater  with  regard  to  their 
dead.  Although  they  are  not  afraid  of  the  souls  of  the 
defunct,  they  dread  the  souls  of  the  enemies  whom  they 
have  caused  to  suffer.  They  make  every  effort  to  keep 
them  at  a  distance,  and  they  believe  that  they  drive 
them  from  the  wigwams  by  making  a  horrible  noise 
after  the  setting  of  the  sun,  on  the  day  in  which  they 
had  put  them  to  death.  But  they  arc  not  afraid  of 
those  souls  who  have  died  otherwise.  For  entire  weeks 
the  women  are  cr)'ing  in  a  solemn  manner,  especially 
in  the  morning  at  the  breaking  of  the  day,  for  the  souls 
of  their  friends  and  relations.  Besides  these  cryings 
the  widows  betray  other  marks  of  grief.  They  discard 
ornaments,  nor  do  they  bathe  or  anoint  their  bodies. 
While  in  mourning  they  keep  a  rigorous  silence  and  wear 
their  hair  loose. 

They  often,  the  women  especially,  repair  to  weep  over 
tombs  of  their  dead,  because  they  believe  tliat  the  soul, 


1 8  A    TOUR  rV  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

notwithstanding  the  separation  from  the  body,  does  not 
immediately  go  away.  When  death  is  natural,  they 
place  the  corpse  in  a  box  formed  of  a  large  bark,  elevat- 
ing it  upon  four  poles,  leaving  it  there  till  the  time  of 
th.Q  feast  of  the  dead — a  solemnity  celebrated  with  con- 
siderable pomp  every  eight  or  ten  years.  At  this  time 
all  the  inhabitants  of  a  village  take  down  these  coffins, 
remove  with  care  the  flesh  from  the  bones  of  their  dead, 
and  envelope  the  bones  in  very  valuable  skins.  The 
entire  country  is  summoned,  and  all  the  bones  are 
united,  and  with  great  solemnity  buried  forever  in  a 
large  grave  richly  carpeted  with  ornamented  furs.  This 
funeral-field  is  called  Oigosaye.  They  place  there  also 
several  presents,  kettles,  etc.,  because  they  think  that 
the  souls  need  yet  such  things  in  the  other  world. 

When  death  is  violent,  the  corpse  is  either  burnt  or 
buried  immediately.  There  is  an  exception  made  in 
favoi*  of  those  frozen  to  death.  The  corpse  undergoes  a 
long  and  superstitious  dissection  ;  then  the  bones,  per- 
fectly cleaned,  are  consigned  to  the  earth,  and  never 
exhumed,  not  even  in  the  feast  of  tJic  dead.  The  In- 
dians believe  that  the  souls  of  those  who  arc  drowned 
or  killed  in  the  war  have  no  commerce  in  the  next 
world  wdth  those  dead  otherwise.  They  bury  with  the 
dead  whatsoever  precious  things  belonged  to  him.  They 
do  not  bear  to  hear  mention  of  their  dead,  e\cn  to  hear, 
"  Your  father  or  }'our  mother  arc  (;lcad  " — the  dead  of 
yoiir  family.  It  is  considered  a  great  insult,  and  liable 
to  cause  unpleasantness. 

If  it  be  necessary  to  mention  the  name  of  a  dead 
person,  it  is  considered  a  great  insult  to  mention  the 
name  without  adding  the  word  defitiiet.  They  say, 
"  He  that  was  called  so,"  "  he  that  left  us,'*  or  in  gen- 
eral manner,  "the  defunct."  At  the  news  of  the  death 
of  some  Indian,  either  in  the  village  or  elsewhere,  the 


SAULT  RIVER.  ig 

chief  announces  it  with  loud  voice  in  the  village,  in 
order  that  no  person  shall  again  pronounce  that  name 
without  adding  **  defunct ; "  and  if  any  person  in  the 
village  bears  the  same  name,  he  will  change  it  for  a 
while  in  order  not  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  family  to 
whom  the  dead  person  belonged.  But  if  the  name  of 
the  defunct  is  a  famous  one,  it  always  survives,  and  the 
eldest  of  the  family  takes  it  in  a  solemn  and  great  feast, 
saying  that  he  had  ''  resuscitated  him."  This  custom  is 
observed  regularly  with  all  the  names  of  the  chiefs,  so 
they  never  change. 

The  Ontario  coasted  Hammond  Island,  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  lake,  and  passing  between  savage  but  ro- 
mantic isles  on  the  Canadian  shore,  w^e  entered  the 
Sault  River.  I  could  observe  the  wigwams  of  the  Ot- 
tawa, Chippewa,  and  Huron  Indians  on  the  eastern 
shores  of  St.  Joseph  Island. '"  The  scenery  here  is 
grand,  and  very  much  like  the  Thousand  Islands  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  River.  We  were  all  on  deck  on  one  of  the 
most  charming  days  of  September,  and  enchanted  with 
the  beauties  of  the  eastern  channel,  which  the  steamer 
was  rapidly  approaching,  between  Sugar  Island  and  the 
Canadian  shore.  We  were  eagerly  gazing  at  it  with  the 
utmost  curiosity,  when  the  bell  rang.  "  What  is  that  ?  " 
"  Dinner,"  cried  the  steward.  "  That  is  a  vexation," 
cried  a  passenger,  turning  to  me  in  a  very  indignant 
manner.  "  I  do  swear  they  do  it  purposely  in  order  to 
deprive  us  of  the  pleasure  of  seeing  one  of  the  best  bits 
of  scenery."  "  I  do  not  think  so,"  I  replied,  "  it  is  din- 
ner-time ;  dinner  is  ready,  and  tliey  do  not  want  to  have 
it  spoiled."  "  Yes,  I  do  believe,"  he  repeated,  still  very 
angry,  "  they  do  it  on  purpose.    Now,  I  declare  I  do  not 


*  This  island  is  not  to  be  confoiiiidcd  witli  tlie  St.  Josepli  Island  on 
Georgian  Bay,  where  the  Hurons  had  several  villages,  and  from  which 
island  they  were  expelled  by  the  Iroquois. 


20  '-^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISniERES. 

care  for  dinner,  and  I  will  remain  to  see  this  passage." 
But  the  clamor  of  the  stomach  prevailed  over  that  of 
the  eyes,  and  he  left  the  deck  and  came  to  dinner. 

Reader,  you  have  traveled  on  a  railroad  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  when  at  a  certain  station  after 
having  heard  the  conductor  cry,  "  Fifteen  minutes  for 
dinner !  "  you  have  entered  the  dining-room,  you  see  the 
passengers,  especially  the  Yankees,  seated  at  the  table, 
as  if  to  do  battle  with  knives,  forks,  and  spoons,  or 
running  a  race  to  ascertain  who  could  eat  the  fastest. 
You  hear  the  confused  but  steady  rattling  of  the 
knives  and  forks  on  the  plates.  One  holding  his  hand- 
kerchief by  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  both  hands, 
wipes  his  mouth,  not  entirely  empty,  by  pulling  the 
handkerchief  to  and  fro  ;  another,  having  failed  to  chew 
a  tough  piece  of  meat,  tries  to  swallow  it.  Then  a 
third,  a  tall,  slab-sided  Yankee  stretching  his  arm  to  stick 
a  fork  in  some  pickles  at  least  one  yard  from  him.  An- 
other bending  over  the  table  sipping  his  coffee  by  one 
side  of  his  mouth,  while  the  other  side  is  swollen  with 
food.  Such,  on  this  day,  was  the  performance  in  the 
Ontario  dining-room. 

When  we  regained  the  deck,  tlie  sk\--line  was  broken 
upon  by  the  appearance  of  smoke  at  a  distance. 
We  were  guessing  what  the  smoke  might  be  ;  and  a*^ 
there  were  no  houses  of  white  people,  the  opinion 
gained  ground  that  it  came  from  some  Indian 
wigwam  ;  after  a  little,  however,  the  appearance  of  a 
small  tug-boat  cleared  all  doubts.  Such  an  apparition  in 
this  solitary  place  was  a  rara  avis  in  terns.  Tliis  tug- 
boat was  coming  from  the  north-eastern  point  of  Sugar 
Island,  where  a  Canadian  gentleman  has  some  lumber 
mills,  a  summer  residence,  and  large  tracts  of  land. 
There  is  on  this  island  a  Chippewa  village  having  two 
3mall  churches,  each  boasting  a  belfry  and  bell,     The 


GA  RDEN  RI VER—  SA  UL  T  S  TE.-MA  RIE.  2 1 

village  is  like  the  Indian  villages  in  Maine,  small,  irreg- 
ular, and  dirty.  There  is  no  resident  priest  on  this 
island,  but  it  is  attended  from  Sault  Sainte-Marie.  Su- 
gar Island  belongs  to  the  American  side,  but  the  Indian 
village  is  partly  on  the  bank  of  this  island  opposite  to 
the  Canadian  shore,  where  the  principal  part  of  the  In- 
dian village  is  situated.  There  is  a  resident  missionary 
priest,  who  visits  also  the  missions  and  stations  along 
the  river  St.  Mary.  In  this  village  there  is  a  school 
numbering  about  thirty  pupils.  The  village  is  called 
Garden  River,  from  a  small  river  of  that  name  on  the 
Canadian  side. 

The  Ontario  now  took  a  sharp  bend  westward,  and 
having  rounded  a  Canadian  promontory,  steamed  north- 
west toward  Sault  Sainte-Marie,  where  we  arrived  at 
four  P.-M.  The  steamer  landed  first  on  the  Canadian 
part  of  that  miserable  but  ancient  town — famous  in  the 
annals  of  Catholic  missions — the  Alvia  Mater  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  north  and  north-west,  and  the  cradle  of 
western  civilization.  We  landed,  but  there  was  nothing 
to  see.  The  cathedral  is  a  small  building  of  a  rather 
recent  construction,  but  we  had  no  time  to  inspect  the 
interior.  The  heat  was  extreme ;  in  the  town  it  was 
unbearable,  so  we  returned  to  the  boat  to  breathe  the 
fresh  air  of  the  river.  The  population,  both  Indian  and 
white,  does  not  exceed  six  or  seven  hundred  souls.  No 
building  of  any  consequence  is  observed.  The  dwelling 
of  the  Vicar-Apostolic  is  a  small  one-story  modest  house. 
There  is  also  a  resident  priest,  who  is  vicar.  The  Vicar- 
Apostolic,  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  was  absent  on  a  visit 
to  the  missions  of  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 

"  All  aboard  ! "  cried  the  first-mate,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes we  were  in  the  L'nited  States.  The  American  side 
of  Sault  Sainte-Marie  is  not  any  better  than  the  Cana- 
dian, except  that  it  boasts  a  company  of  about  thirty 


22  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

soldiers.  Wc  visited  the  village,  especially  the  old 
church,  once  a  Bishopric,  and  the  mother-house,  from 
which  the  missionaries  attended  the  Indians  on  the 
islands  around  the  great  lakes ;  but  since  the  See  was 
transferred  to  Marquette,  on  Lake  Superior,  and  a  Vica- 
riate-Apostolic  established  in  Northern  Canada,  only  one 
resident  priest  has  been  left  in  this  time-honored  alma 
mater,  Saint  Marys  Church.  It  was  once  an  extensive 
trading  place  between  French  and  Indian  people,  but 
now  it  is  a  miserable  village,  even  inferior  to  the  Cana- 
dian Sault  Saintc-Marie. 

The  Ontario  made  only  a  short  stop  on  the  American 
side,  and  steamed  up  westward  on  the  river.  About 
dark  we  entered  Toncurmenon  Bay,  and  while  coasting 
an  island  we  sighted  Whitefish-point  Light  at  the  en- 
trance of  Lake  Superior. 

It  was  a  still,  dark  night.  I^lack  clouds  were  accumu- 
lating northward  toward  the  lake ;  the  weather  was 
threatening,  and  the  approach  of  a  terrible  storm  to 
catch  the  Ontario  in  the  middle  of  Lake  Superior,  fa- 
mous for  shipwrecks,  and  without  harbor,  saddened  the 
cheerful  faces  of  the  excursionists.  There  was  a  flash 
of  lightning  at  a  distance  northward,  and  it  startled  the 
passengers,  who,  with  pale  faces  and  in  silence,  one  by 
one  went  to  their  respective  state-rooms  to  find  rest 
and  comfort  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus.  I  was  not  one 
of  the  last  to  go,  but  retired  in  haste,  before  sea-sick- 
ness, or  rather  the  lake-sickness,  disturbed  my  stomach. 

After  midnight  I  was  awakened  by  the  tossing  to  and 
fro  of  the  ship.  The  wind  was  blowing  furiously,  huri- 
cane-like,  and  the  rain  pouring  in  torrents,  and  I  real- 
ized the  precarious  position  of  being  in  a  terrible  storm 
in  the  middle  of  Lake  Superior,  so  difficult  of  naviga- 
tion. None  but  staunch  vessels  of  large  size  and  great 
strength  dare  to  furrow  those   Mediterranean  waters. 


A  STORM  O-V  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


23 


The  Ontario  was  a  large,  strong,  and  new  steamer,  built 
expressly  for  the  navigation  of  that  lake,  yet  she  could 
not  brave  the  fury  of  that  storm.  From  my  berth  I  was 
witness  to  the  breaking  of  the  window  of  my  state- 
room, produced  by  the  concussion  of  the  waves  against 
the  vessel,  which  jarred  and  shook  in  a  truly  alarming 
manner.  Those  used  to  storms  in  the  ocean  have  no 
idea  of  the  storms  on  the  great  lakes,  especially  on  Lake 
Superior.  These  enormous  lakes,  from  the  comparative 
shallowness  of  their  beds,  and  because  their  waters  pos- 
sess less  specific  gravity  than  those  of  the  ocean  when 
swept  by  the  winds,  raise  waves  more  rough  and  dan- 
gerous than  those  of  the  sea,  though  not  quite  so 
mountainous,  and  they  appeared  to  me  to  come  in 
quicker  succession.  Unlike  the  storms  on  the  ocean, 
where  the  billows  strike  the  vessel  on  the  bow,  or  diag- 
onall}-,  or  on  the  sides,  thus  causing  the  ship  to  pitch  or 
to  rock,  according  to  the  direction  of  the  wind,  here 
they  strike  the  boat  under  the  bottom  and  actually  lift 
her,  producing  a  motion  altogether  novel  and  peculiar. 
We  passed  at  a  distance  the  Pictured  rocks,  so  called 
from  their  appearance,  and  they  are  an  extraordinary 
natural  curiosity,  representing  a  great  variety  of  forms, 
having  numerous  projections  and  indentations,  and  vast 
caverns,  in  which  the  penetrating  waves  cause  a  jarring 
and  fearful  sound.  They  form  a  wall-like  perpendicular 
barrier,  and  extend  for  nearly  twelve  miles.  They  arc 
on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  toward  the  east  end.  We 
were  on  the  point  of  being  wrecked  on  Stannard's 
rock.  Finally,  however,  after  several  hours  of  hard  and 
doubtful  struggle  against  the  infuriated  elements,  the 
captain,  upon  the  advice  of  the  officers,  resolved  to  run 
for  dear  life.  But  where  to  go  to  ?  There  were  no  harbors 
to  be  made,  so  the  captain  wisely  issued  the  order  to 
turn  the  Ontario  toward  the  copper  region  to  find  some 


24  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

shelter  under  Keewenaw  Point,  the  most  northern  point 
of  the  peninsula  of  Michigan,"  where  we  cast  anchor.' 

It  was  a  long  and  gloomy  day,  and  the  passengers 
tried  to  kill  the  time  in  the  best  way  they  could  ; 
but  thanks  to  God,  the  storm  commenced  to  abate,  the 
rain  ceased,  and  the  waves  rolled  with  less  violence  ; 
nevertheless  there  was  no  hope  as  yet  of  venturing  into 
the  middle  of  the  angry  lake.  A  party  was  formed  to 
go  on  shore  in  the  afternoon  and  visit  a  few  old  houses 
belonging  to  the  U.  S.  or  State  Government,  occupied 
during  summer  by  two  or  three  families  of  fishermen  of 
mixed  Indian,  Canadian,  and  Scotch  blood,  the  only  visi- 
ble inhabitants  of  Keewenaw  Point.  The  captain  kindly 
gave  one  of  the  boats  to  carry  the  passengers ;  the 
purser  offered  to  steer  the  boat,  two  sailors  were  given 
by  the  captain,  and  four  passengers  among  the  party 
joined  the  sailors  in  working  the  oars — less  than  six  oars 
could  not  pull  the  boat  to  the  shore,  which  was  about 
one  mile  distant — and  the  wind  was  still  blowing  fresh. 
The  party  was  composed  of  fourteen  persons  all  told  ; 
among  them  a  lady.  They  requested  me  several  times 
to  go  with  them,  but  I  could  not  decide  till  I  should  see 
how  they  were  to  descend  to  the  boat  from  the  steamer. 
A  rope  was  fastened  to  a  yard  of  the  steamer,  and  the 
party,  one  by  one,  holding  the  rope  with  both  hands, 
were  to  slide  into  the  boat.  Now,  both  steamer  and 
boat  were  tossing  to  and  fro;  each  passenger,  firmly 
holding  the  rope,  was  obliged  to  remain  suspended  in 
the  air  to  catch  the  moment  when  he  was  perpendicular 
to  the  boat,  and  at  once  drop  into  it,  or  on  any  of  the 
limbs  of  those  who  were  already  ensconced  therein.  As 
the  rope  was  swinging,  if  the  proper  moment  was  missed, 


*  Michigan  means  "trout,"  or  "fish-eater,"  as  the  Winnebago  In 
dians  called  themselves. 


LAKE  SUPERIOR.  25 

he  might  drop  into  the  lake,  or  strike  on  the  gunwale 
of  the  boat.  The  lady  was  more  gently  handled.  Per- 
ceiving this,  and  considering  the  difficulty  of  climbing 
on  the  steamer  again,  and  then  again  on  to,  and  from 
the  shore,  and  reflecting  that  I  might  be  seriously  hurt, 
and  thus  be  obliged  to  end  the  tour  around  the  world  just 
at  the  commencement  of  it,  I  declined  to  accompany  the 
explorers.  One  of  the  two  other  priests  went  with 
them,  as  there  might  have  been  some  need  of  him,  be- 
cause we  had  learned  that  the  occupants  of  the  shanties 
were  Catholics. 

The  boat,  heavily  loaded  with  its  human  freight,  the 
party  adjusting  themselves  just  like  sardines  in  a  box, 
left  for  the  shore  amid  acclamations  from  the  steamboat 
and  mutual  waving  of  handkerchiefs.  From  the  deck 
of  the  Ontario  we  kept  our  eyes  steadily  on  the  boat,  and 
now  and  then  we  could  perceive  some  of  the  passengers 
shifting  location  either  to  give  more  room  for  working 
the  oars,  or  to  keep  the  skiff  better  trimmed.  There  wc 
could  observe  a  goodly-sized  wave  rolling  and  rolling, 
dash  against  the  boat,  and  lo  !  a  sheet  of  water  covered 
the  whole  party.  It  is  true  the  boat  bravely  reached  the 
shore  in  less  than  two  hours,  but  I  doubt  whether  there 
was  any  portion  of  the  garments  of  the  passengers  left 
dry. 

Lake  Superior  is  the  largest  body  of  fresh  water  that 
has  been  discovered  in  any  part  of  the  earth.  In 
length  it  measures  500  miles,  and  the  circumference  is 
estimated  to  be  1,700  miles.  Its  widest  part  is  190 
miles.  It  is  900  feet  deep,  and  its  surface  is  641  feet 
above  the  Atlantic.  This  is  the  most  western  of  the 
chain  of  the  five  great  lakes  of  Xortli  America.  It  receives 
more  than  thirty  rivers.  Tlie  only  outlet  to  this  lake  is 
St.    Mary's    Strait,    which    extends    to    Lake    Huron; 

others   connect    the    other   lakes ;    and    the    combined 
2 


26  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

waters  of  all,  by  the  St.  Lawrence,  disembogue  into 
the  ocean.  Yet  the  water  discharged  by  the  St.  Law- 
rence is  by  no  means  proportioned  to  the  amount  of 
the  waters  received  by  the  lakes.  They  spread  over  so 
great  a  surface  that  the  evaporation  from  them  is  im- 
mense. The  spring  floods  of  hundreds  of  rivers  that 
enter  into  them  hardly  affect  them,  nor  cause  any  floods 
in  their  outlet.  It  was  justly  remarked  by  some  author, 
that,  like  the  ocean,  these  mighty  inland  seas  seem  to 
receive  without  increase,  and  to  impart  without  dimi- 
nution. The  assertion  of  those  declaring  that  these 
lakes  have  diurnal  and  septennial  fluxes  and  refluxes  is 
not  an  established  fact ;  even  if  they  exist,  it  is  certain 
that  they  are  irregular  and  inconsiderable.  The  waters 
of  Lake  Superior  are  very  pure  and  transparent ;  their 
lower  strata  never  rise  to  the  temperature  of  summer, 
while  the  water  only  loo  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
lake  is  as  cold  as  ice-water.  This  lake  derives  its  water 
partly  from  the  marshes  and  shallow  lakes  covered  with 
wild  rice,  which  supply  also  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Mississippi.  They  are  unpalatable  and  slimy,  but  lose 
their  swampy  taste  and  acquire  a  great  transparency 
when  they  become  level,  and  undergo  the  action  of  the 
lake. 

Late  in  the  evening  the  party  returned.  They  were 
obliged  to  come  on  board  by  climbing  on  ropes.  The 
lady  was  allowed  to  remain  in  the  boat,  and  was  lifted 
up  together  with  the  boat,  then  was  helped  to  leap  on 
board.  All  were  well  and  much  pleased  with  their  trip, 
and  most  willingly  related  their  experience  on  shore  ; 
how  they  picked  up  flowers,  berries,  and  such  like  ;  the 
visit  they  paid  to  the  shanties,  and  the  conversation 
held  with  two  especial  families.  But  they  were  not  very 
communicative  about  having  been  ducked,  or  about 
their  clothes  having  been  wet  and  torn  by  bushes  and 


LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


27 


briers.  You  could  perceive  by  their  glances  at  their 
hands,  and  with  their  nails  or  teeth,  trying  to  pull  or  pick 
some  little  bit  of  skin  from  the  palm,  that  their  hands 
were  smarting  or  hurt  in  working  at  the  oars,  or  in  slid- 
ing on  the  ropes.  "  Cast  a  line  !  "  all  on  a  sudden  was 
heard  near  the  steamer  from  the  lake.  We  rushed  to 
look,  and  beheld  two  fishermen,  having  in  their  boat 
full  baskets  of  large  trout,  white-fish,  and  blue-berries, 
which  had  been  ordered  by  the  purser  when  on  shore. 
We  rejoiced  at  their  appearance,  expecting  at  supper  to 
participate  of  those  delicious  delicacies  of  Lake  Superior. 

These  lakes,  and  especially  Lake  Superior,  arc  famous 
for  the  abundance  of  trout,  white-fish,  and  sturgeon. 
The  trout  is  equal  in  size  to  the  cod  of  Newfoundland 
banks,  and  the  white-fish  and  sturgeon  comparatively 
large.  This  lake,  and  the  others  also,  abound  with  pike, 
pickerel,  carp,  bass,  herring,  and  numerous  species  of 
fish.  The  average  weight  of  the  trout  exceeds  twelve 
pounds,  and  many  weigh  forty  and  even  fifty  pounds. 
Fishermen  relate  that  last  year  they  made  three  thou- 
sand dollars  by  their  fish. 

Next  day,  Sunday,  the  weather  was  fine,  the  morning 
being  truly  charming,  and  although  the  lake  was  not 
entirely  calm,  it  had  all  the  appearance  of  soon  becom- 
ing still.  \\x  passed  Gull  Island  light,  then  rounding 
Manitu  Island  (Island  of  the  Spirits),  the  Oiitai'io  steered 
for  Silver  Island,  and  for  several  hours  land  was  lost  to 
sight. 

The  lake  took  the  appearance  of  a  looking-glass. 
The  other  two  priests  and  myself  said  Mass  privately  in 
a  state-room,  where  we  were  each  provided  with  vest- 
ments and  other  necessaries  for  celebration.  We  soon 
sighted  Isle  Royale,  the  largest  island  in  this  lake ;  it  is 
said  to  be  one  hundred  miles  long  by  forty  broad  ;  then 
rounding  Passage  Island,  the  Ontario  steered  for  Silver 


28  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Islet,  or  rather  for  the  small  village  on  the  north  shore 
of  the  mainland,  close  and  opposite  to  Silver  Islet. 

This  small  island — called  Silver  Island  on  account  oi 
a  rich  silver  and  lead  mine — is  so  low,  that  it  only  rises 
a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake,  and  it  is  so  small 
that  five  or  six  tiny  houses  and  the  mine  works,  cover 
its  entire  surface.  At  a  very  short  distance  to  the 
north-west,  on  the  mainland,  there  is  a  small  village  of 
Irish  and  Scotch  settlers,  who  work  at  the  mine,  and 
labor  at  the  mills,  where  the  stones  from  the  mine  are 
transported  in  order  to  be  crushed  and  the  ore  extracted. 
This  Silver  Island  is  so  small  that  it  has  no  capacity  for 
a  mill,  hence  the  stones  are  conveyed  by  a  tug-boat  to 
be  operated  at  the  mills  in  this  tiny  village.  As  the 
people  are  nearly  all  Catholic,  there  is  a  church  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Rose  of  Lima,  a  school-house,  and  a  resident 
priest. 

The  Ontario  stopped  there  only  a  very  short  time, 
and  I  availed  myself  of  the  stoppage  to  visit  the  black 
rocks  denominated  a  village.  No  vegetation  could 
be  seen — nor  was  there  room  for  it — except  a  few  cab- 
bages pitifully  stuck  to  the  slope  of  a  ravine.  The 
mail  was  changed,  some  freight  landed,  and  the  Ontario 
started  for  Prince  Arthur  Landing.  It  was  a  glorious 
day.  The  sky  clear,  the  air  perfectly  still,  the  atmos- 
phere mellow  and  charming,  and  in  the  smooth  and  crys- 
talline waters  of  the  lake  were  reflected,  as  in  a  mirror, 
the  romantic  images  of  the  fantastic,  bold,  and  colossal 
mountains  of  the  north  shore  of  this  picturesque  lake. 
The  wild  islands  at  the  south  side  seemed  to  be  proud 
of  the  grandeur  of  their  form  as  mirrored  in  that  exten- 
sive looking-glass.  Lake  Superior.  The  scenery  was 
sublime  above  description  ;  we  thought  we  were  in  one 
of  those  enchanted  and  fascinating  places,  the  mysterious 
abode  of  fairies. 


PRINCE  ARTHUR'S  LANDING  VILLAGE. 


29 


The  Ontario  crossed  Black  Bay,  a  very  appropriate 
name  to  that  locality,  from  the  sombre  and  bleak  high 
mountains  which  surround  it.  Then  we  rounded  Thun- 
der Cape— a  majestic  and  lofty  rocky  promontory 
boldly  protruding  into  the  lake.  You  could  see  this 
mountain,  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  water,  reflect  its 
hoary  crest,  whose  naked  and  rent  sides  told  of  the 
many  thunder-storms  and  snow  gales  it  had  braved  for 
centuries.  The  steamer  entered  the  wild  and  savage- 
looking  Thunder  Bay  and  steered  steadily  north-west 
toward  Prince  Arthur's  Landing,  where  we  arrived  a 
little  after  eleven  A.M. 

This  is  a  small  new  village  of  about  twelve  hundred 
inhabitants,  who  are  nearly  all  miners  and  hotel-keepers, 
that  is,  beer  and  rum-scllcrs.  The  houses  are  a  little 
more  than  decent  shanties,  and  every  second  house 
bears  the  pompous  inscription  in  large  capital  letters. 
Hotel,  Boardino;-housc,  United  States  Hotel,  SJiamroek 
House,  Hotel  d'  Europe,  Maison  Dore,  Ontario  Hotel, 
and  such  like.  Yet  none  of  the  excursionists  attempted 
to  take  a  meal  in  any  of  them,  except  a  few  who  went 
thither  to  w^ork  in  the  mines  or  on  the  railroad  in 
course  of  construction  toward  Red  River.  The  town 
v/as  named  in  honor  of  Prince  Arthur,  who,  on  his  visit 
to  Lake  Superior,  made  a  landing  at  this  place.  Not- 
withstanding this,  Prince  Arthur  Landing  has  got  a 
bank !  Whether  there  is  any  bottom  to  it  or  not,  I  can 
not  tell. 

The  two  priests  and  I  immediately  after  landing  went 
t)  the  church.  The  bishop  was  there,  and  was  preach- 
ing. I  stopped  to  hear  the  sermon  and  the  rest  of  tlie 
High  Mass,  which  was  being  C(-lebrated  by  a  venerable, 
old-looking  priest.  The  choir  ^\•as  formed  by  men,  and 
was  without  any  instrumeiit.  The  church  was  no  larger 
than    that  at  Pleasant   Point,   Me.,  that  is,  very  small, 


30  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

and  having  the  form  of  that  belonging  to  the  Indians  at 
Lewis  Island,  but  it  has  three  aisles,  which,  however, 
were  not  entirely  filled.  The  bishop  was  assisted  by  an 
old  priest  from  Fort  William. 

After  Mass  I  was  introduced  to  his  lordship,  who  in- 
vited me  to  dine  with  him,  but  I  was  obliged  to  excuse 
myself,  because  I  was  to  return  to  the  steamer.  Yet 
I  doubt  whether  there  was  any  room  for  me,  be- 
cause the  house  is  very  small.  It  is  a  box  divided  into 
diminutive  rooms.  There  was  no  kitchen  ;  dinner  had 
been  prepared  elsewhere,  and  brought  thither  by  some 
ladies.  You  may  imagine  how  the  people  were  jammed 
in  those  two  little  rooms.  They  were  obliged  to  pull 
themselves  off  by  making  use  of  their  arms  like  oars. 
The  house  was  being  fixed.  It  was  yet  on  runners, 
having  been  moved  from  some  other  locality.  His 
lordship  knew  me  by  reputation,  and  also  the  other 
missionaries.  We  held  some  conference  on  the  Indian 
languages.  They  had  some  copies  of  my  Indian  books, 
and  I  was  thankful  to  learn  from  them  some  valuable 
observations  on  the  language  of  the  Chippewa  and  Ot- 
tawa Indians.  The  name  of  the  bishop  was  John 
Francis  Jamot,  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Northern  Canada. 

At  half-past  three  o'clock  P.M.  the  Ontario  sounded 
the  whistle,  and  fifteen  minutes  after,  we  left  for  Fort 
William.  There  was  a  tug-boat  which  left  with  us 
for  the  same  Fort,  having  on  board  the  two  pas- 
senger-priests, the  old  missionary  who  had  sung  Mass 
at  Prince  Arthur's  Landing,  and  some  freight  and  the 
mail.  After  four  or  five  miles  the  captain  pointed  out 
to  me  the  English  flag  displayed  on  the  western  shore 
of  the  lake.  ''  That  is  Fort  William,"  he  said  to  me. 
"  It  is  Sunday,  therefore  the  British  colors  are  flying  on 
the  fort.  Fort  William,"  continued  he,  "and  Fort 
Garry  arc  the  principal  posts  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 


•  HUDSON  BAY  COMPANY.  3 1 

pany  on  the  side  of  the  United  States.  The  Hudson 
Bay  Company  is  doing  good  business.  Last  year  the 
entire  Company  made  a  dividend  of  seventy-five  per 
cent,  per  pound  sterhng."  This  Company  has  had  the 
monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  for  many  years.  The  people 
even  of  Canada,  till  lately,  did  not  even  know  the  way  by 
land  to  Hudson  Bay.  It  was  a  mystery  known  only  to 
the  few  who  had  the  monopoly  of  that  organization.  It 
is  true  that,  in  some  measure,  it  was  necessary,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  employes  at  the  Hudson  Bay  factories 
from  running  away  to  Canada,  or  to  the  United  States. 
These  workingmen  spend  solitary  and  monotonous 
lives  in  Hudson  Bay,  where,  onl}"  once  in  the  year, 
after  the  breaking  of  the  ice,  English  vessels  with  fresh 
provisions  can  effect  an  entrance,  and  which  are  imme- 
diately loaded  with  furs  and  manufactured  peltry,  and 
return  to  England.  The  long  and  dreary  winter  of 
that  inhospitable  region  sickens  the  employes,  who 
would  most  willingly  fly  from  that  wilderness  if  they 
had  only  the  means,  and  knew  but  the  way. 

The  steamer  now  entered  a  narrow  passage  between 
the  western  shore  and  Pie  Island  (called  so  from  the 
form  of  a  colossal  pie),  a  naked  but  picturesque  rock 
rising  abruptly  from  the  lake.  No  human  teeth  can  bite 
at  that  pie,  no  palate  can  relish  it,  nor  does  any  human 
being  want  to  taste  it ;  yet  the  time  is  not  far  off  when 
iron  teeth  will  crush  it,  and  many  people  long  for  it, 
not  for  the  mouth,  but  to  ornament  their  persons  with 
the  gold  and  precious  stones  contained  therein.  They 
have  commenced  to  dig  for  minerals.  Lake  Superior 
has  already  gained  a  great  reputation,  not  only  for  iron 
and  copper,  but  on  the  northern  shores  and  islands  for 
gold,  silver,  and  great  variety  of  agates,  amethysts,  and 
moss-agates. 

Now  we  passed  close  between  the  mainland  and  a 


32  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

number  of  small  islands,  whose  various  fantastic  and 
graceful  shapes  tend  to  form  one  of  the  most  imposing 
beauties  of  Lake  Superior.  We  sighted  again  Isle 
Royale,  that  is,  the  western  shore  of  it,  but  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  soon  came  to  the  mouth  of  Arrow  River,  a 
small  river  on  the  western  shore,  yet  it  not  only  dis- 
charges the  water  of  Arrow  Lake,  but  also  the  waters 
of  a  chain  of  other  small  lakes.  The  Ontario  now 
rounded  two  tiny  promontories,  between  which  stands 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  old  fort  Charlotte,  and 
after  another  revolution  of  the  earth,  and  many  of  the 
engine,  we  found  ourselves  between  I3eaver  Bay  village 
on  the  mainland,  and  the  Apostles'  Lsles.  The  lake 
had  now  become  narrow,  which  enabled  us  to  enjoy  the 
view  of  both  shores.  The  steamer  passed  Burlington 
and  Clifton  \'illages  without  landing.  They  are  two 
small  but  beautiful  villages  handsomely  located  on  the 
western  shore  of  the  lake.  The  Ontario  took  the  direc- 
tion of  Fond  du  Lac,  and  we  landed  at  Duluth,  in  the 
State  of  Minnesota,'"  toward  noon,  again  entering  into 
the  United  States. 

The  customs  officers  came  on  board  to  inspect  the 
baggage.  They  were  very  particular  in  examining  it, 
and  I  missed  the  polite  manners  of  the  Canadian  cus- 
toms officers  at  Port  Sarnia  last  week.  The  Canadians 
have  inherited  the  French  politeness  from  their  mother 
country.  In  no  country,  Holland  exxeptcd,  have  I  seen 
such  rough  customs  officers  as  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  true  that  Duluth  is  not  a  fair  specimen  of  civiliza- 
tion. Being  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  or  rather  at  the 
tail  of  it,  and  the  most  of  the  year  blockaded  by  ice 
and  deep  snow,  it  has  little  opportunit}'  for  civilization. 


*  Minnesota  'iieaiis   "cloudy  water,"  from  a  muddy  ri\er  in   that 
State. 


INSPECTION  OF  BAGGAGE. 


33 


Yet  the  location  may  be  compared  with  that  of  Port 
Sarnia. 

An  officer  came  to  inspect  my  baggage,  which  con- 
sisted only  of  a  small  trunk,  a  little  valise,  and  a  hat- 
case,  wherein  I  had  arranged  all  my  effects  for  the  tour 
around  the  world,  hence  I  was  opposed  to  having  it  up- 
set. In  vain  I  asserted  that  I  came  from  the  States 
and  that  I  had  nothing  contraband  with  me.  I  was 
searched  in  a  manner  as  if  I  was  the  first  contrabandist 
in  the  country.  Perhaps  he  wanted  me  to  slide  some- 
thing into  his  hands.  This  I  disdained  to  do.  lie  first 
examined  my  little  valise,  where  I  had  only  some  soiled 
linen,  a  Breviary  and  Ordo,  an  oil-stock,  ritual,  and 
stole,  a  shaving-case,  a  crucifix,  some  images,  and  a  few 
articles  for  daily  use.  All  these  impediments  were  care- 
fully examined  ;  but  oh  !  he  grasped  a  little  flask  con- 
taining less  than  half  a  pint  of  brandy.  I  had  purchased 
in  Sarnia,  a  small  bottle,  lest  I  might  need  it  on  the 
lake;  but  I  had  used  only  a  little.  Less  than  half  of  that 
bottle  was  in  the  trunk,  and  only  a  little  in  the  flask. 
He  lifted  the  flask  with  the  right  hand,  shook  it  two  or 
three  times,  looking  at  my  face  in  an  ironical  manner, 
as  though  satisfied  that  there  was  not  much  in  that  flask, 
replaced  it,  and  made  me  a  sign  to  close  my  valise. 

Having  locked  it,  I  was  compelled  to  unlock  the 
trunk.  Two  Irishmen  belonging  to  the  boat,  and  who 
knew  who  I  was,  were  always  at  my  side,  and  helped 
me  to  unstrap  and  unlock  the  trunk.  Here  the  officer 
pitched  into  it  with  all  his  strength  and  wisdom,  and 
like  a  cat  who  had  smelled  a  mouse,  with  both  fore-paws 
was  digging  and  scattering  in  every  direction  the  con- 
tents. There  he  pulled  that  bottle  (already  referred  to) 
less  than  half  full  of  brand}-.  He  shook  it,  and  look- 
ing at  me  very  angrily,  said:  "Here  is  more  liquor! 
How  much   licpior  have  }-ou  ?  "     "That  is  all,"  1  said' 


34  A  TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

"it  is  the  remains  of  what  I  used  on  the  lake."  He, 
shaking  his  head,  replaced  it.  Perhaps  he  was  angry 
because  there  was  not  brandy  enough  to  make  a  case. 
However,  he  lost  no  courage.  He  continued  with  his 
fore-paws  to  dig  down  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  trunk. 
"  Here  is  silk  ! "  he  cried  out  in  triumph,  pulling  my 
church  vestments.  "Don't  touch  that,  sir!"  indig- 
nantly shouted  one  of  those  two  Green  Isle  men,  who 
knew  that  it  was  a  chasuble,  now  contaminated  by  pro- 
fane hands.  "  This  is  my  vestment,"  I  said  ;  "  I  am  a 
clergyman,  and  that  is  my  dress."  "  This  is  a  '  praist ! '  " 
cried  again  the  same  Irishman,  who  now  with  widely- 
opened  and  red  eyes  was  looking  at  the  officer.  "  If 
you  examine  it,  sir,"  I  replied,  "  you  will  find  that  it  is 
not  silk."  The  officer  then  with  chalk  marked  the 
trunk  and  off  he  went.  The  Irishmen  helped  me  to 
replace  my  effects,  strap  and  lock  my  trunk,  and  to 
carry  it  with  the  rest  of  my  baggage  upon  the  wharf. 

Duluth  is  a  small  and  neat  village,  situated  on  the 
slope  of  a  high  hill,  with  parallel  streets,  one  over  the 
other.  They  looked  to  me  as  long  steps  to  ascend  the 
top  of  that  hill ;  yet  they  do  not  reach  it,  for  after  the 
fourth  or  fifth  tier,  you  find  yourself  in  a  wilderness. 
All  the  streets  overlook  the  lake,  and  you  can  see  Su- 
perior City,  which  is  only  on  the  other  side  of  the  head 
of  the  lake  southward,  and  a  little  steamer — a  kind  of 
ferry-boat  between  Duluth  and  Superior,  which  is  a  city 
not  any  better  than  Duluth.  I  went  to  purchase  a 
second-class  ticket  for  San  Francisco,  but  the  ticket- 
master  told  me  that  he  had  only  first-class  and  third- 
class  tickets.  So,  against  my  will  and  pocket,  I  took  a 
first-class  ticket.  The  second-class  is  as  good  as  the 
first,  except  that  the  first-class  passengers  have  the 
privilege  of  occupying  the  bed-carriages  at  night  by 
paying  the  extra  fare,  a   privilege  not  allowed  to  the 


DULUTH. 


35 


second-class.  To  judge  how  much  this  privilege  is 
valued,  I  remember  on  my  way  to  San  Francisco,  that 
the  keeper  of  the  Pullman  carriages  nearly  every  night 
was  offering  it  at  half-price  (even  to  the  second-class), 
as  the  beds  were  nearly  all  empty.  The  passengers  pre- 
ferred a  commodious  seat  in  the  large  and  well-ventila- 
ted cars  to  the  narrow,  inconvenient  beds,  the  stifling 
atmosphere,  and  the  nauseous  smell  of  a  most  abomina- 
ble dormitory.  Although  in  the  United  States  there  is 
no  distinction  of  classes  on  the  railroads,  the  line  to 
California  makes  an  exception. 

The  line  selected  by  me  was  St.  Paul,  Sioux  City, 
Omaha,  etc.  As  the  train  would  not  leave  till  the  aft- 
ernoon, I  went  to  the  church  to  say  my  Breviary.  The 
church  is  a  small  and  neat  wooden  building,  located  in 
a  rather  wild  place  between  the  third  and  fourth  tier 
of  streets,  and  it  is  dedicated  to  the  Sacred  Heart.  I 
grew  tired  of  Uuluth,  and  with  great  anxiety  sighed  for 
the  moment  for  leaving  it. 


CHAPTER     III. 

ST.  PAUL — THE  MISSISSIPPI — ST.  ANTHONY  AND  MINNEAPOLIS — MINNE- 
SOTA— ST.  PETER — SIOUX  INDIANS — DAKOTA — SIOUX  CITY — MIS- 
SOURI   RIVER — ARRIVAL   AT    OMAHA. 

At  Duluth,  all  my  traveling  companions  left  me. 
Some  were  returning  by  the  same  boat,  but  the  larger 
section  took  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad-  to  the  Red 
River,  thence  by  boat  to  Piombina,  Manitoba,  etc.,  to 
work  on  the  railroad  ;  others  to  establish  a  printing  office ; 
others  to  farm,  etc. ;  all  seeking  to  make  a  fortune  in  that 
extensive  and  wild  British  territory,  which  in  course  of 
time,  and  when  all  its  resources  will  be  developed,  prom- 
ises to  be  a  great  and  magnificent  country.  Here  I  was 
not  very  far  from  the  little  lake  Itaska,  the  source  of  the 
grand  and  famous  Mississippi  River,  discovered  by  my 
friend,  the  great  and  learned  Dr.  Schoolcraft.  I  remem- 
ber with  what  pleasure,  when  in  Washington,  I  listened 
to  him  relating  his  travels  and  discoveries  in  that  wild 
Indian  region.  "  How  many  long  winter  nights,"  he 
said,  "  I  have  passed  in  an  Indian  camp  conjugating  In- 
dian verbs,  and  learning  grammatical  notices."  When 
he  was  explaining  to  me  the  Indian  language,  he  con- 
cluded thus  :  "  We  have  not  yet  learned  the  language  of 
the  Indians ;  we  have  taken  a  large  number  of  words, 
but  the  language  we  have  not  yet  taken." 

Early  in  the  morning  we  arrived  at  St.  Paul,  a  fine  and 

*  The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  is  finished  only  near  to  Fort  Clark, 
Dakota.     The  company  failed. 
(36) 


MINNEAPOLIS. 


37 


growing  city,  on  the  Mississippi  River,  and  the  capital  of 
the  State  of  Minnesota.  I  had  been  here  many  years 
ago,  and  although  the  city  has  improved  considerably, 
yet  the  progress  was  not  such  as  I  expected.  I  admired 
the  fine  and  abundant  fruit  and  vegetable  market, 
which  was  far  above  my  expectations,  comparing  as  it 
does  favorably  with  other  markets  of  by  far  larger  cities 
in  the  United  States.  There  is  a  fine  bridge  across  the 
Mississippi  River.  I  visited  the  splendid  cataract  of  this 
river  at  St.  Anthony,  about  five  miles  from  St.  Paul.  It 
is  a  grand  sight  to  see  this  father  of  rivers  precipitating 
over  a  wide  slope  of  rocks  of  a  perpendicularity  of  sev- 
enteen feet.  Yet  it  can  not  compare  with  the  majesty 
of  the  Niagara-  Falls.  I  saw  the  elegant  Minnehahaf 
Fall,  which  in  one  leap,  plunges  on  a  quantity  of  rocks, 
where  boiling,  it  rushes  still  lower  down.  A  short  dis- 
tance from  St.  Anthony,  just  across  the  Mississippi,  is 
the  fast-growing  city  of  Minneapolis.:};  The  Mississippi 
is  not  navigable  (at  least  for  large  vessels)  till  it  receives 
the  St.  Peter  or  Minnesota  River,  from  the  west,  twelve 
miles  above  St.  Anthony's  Falls.  The  Mississippi  j$  is  the 
longest  river  in  the  world,  yet  the  Missouri  ||  is  much 
longer  than  the  Mississippi  before  their  junction,  and 
has  a  much  greater  volume  of  water.  The  length  of 
the  Mississippi  is  3,000  miles.  The  number  of  rivers 
that  enter  this  great  artery  of  the  West  is  immense. 
Fourteen  are  navigable  over  300  miles.  It  discharges 
its  waters  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  four  divisions. 


*  Niagara  means  "  fall  of  water." 

I  Minnehaha  means  "  lauLchinjr  water." 

:}:  Minneapf)lis  means  "  lautrhing  water  city."  The  original  word 
was  Minnehapolis. 

§  Mississippi  means  "all  the  waters,"  that  is,  the  congrej^alion  of 
all  the  rivers. 

II  Missouri  means  "all  mud." 


/l/LffL/LQS\ 


38  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

which  form  the  four  mouths  of  the  Mississippi  below 
New  Orleans,  besides  some  other  outlets  above  this 
city.  The  muddy,  yellowish  waters  of  this  river  extend 
very  far  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  their  presence  is 
perceived  by  the  mariner  long  before  he  can  discover 
land. 

These  localities  are  famous  for  the  fur  trade  car- 
ried on  by  a  company  called  "  Columbian  Fur  Com- 
pany," projected  by  three  individuals  thrown  out  of 
employ  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  Northw^est  Company. 
The  traders  extend  their  operations  from  this  locality  to 
the  Missouri  and  Rocky  Mountains,  with  carts  and 
wagons  drawn  by  dogs. 

Toward  the  evening  I  started  for  Sioux  City,  travers- 
ing the  country  of  that  famous  nation,  which  has  been 
and  is  yet  fighting  the  United  States  the  most  of  the 
time,  the  United  States  troops  coming  out  of  battle  the 
second  best.  It  is  not  more  than  two  years  since  Sit- 
ting Bull,  Red  Cloud,  Spotted  Tail,  Man-afraid-of-his 
horses,  and  other  leaders  of  the  different  tribes  of  this 
Indian  nation,  had  a  regular  pitched  battle  with  the 
U.  S.  troops,  who  were  so  completely  whipped  that 
there  hardly  remained  soldiers  enough  to  relate  the  sad 
talc.  The  troops  were  the  attacking  party ;  the  Indians 
were  only  on  the  defense.  But  why  these  hostilities  of 
the  Indians  against  the  United  States,  which  has  spent 
so  much  money  and  taken  so  much  pains  to  Christianize 
and  civilize  these  barbarian  inhabitants  of  the  forest? 

Before  answering  this  question  I  want  to  give  a  brief 
sketch  of  the  Sioux" — that   ereat   nation  of  brave  war- 


*  Sioux  is  a  French  ablireviation  for  .Vadiic-ssioifx,  or  iVaihcessi,  and 
it  means  "grinders,"  or  "one  that  scatters;"  or  from  Siiissi-,  pro- 
nounced by  the  French  Siiis,  which  is  an  erratic  tribe  of  the  Sioux 
nation  living  on  tlie  head-waters  of  the  Saskatc/ia^oaii  (runs  without 
obstacle")  River. 


THE  SIOUX. 


39 


riors  through  whose  land,  at  least  that  which  was  orig- 
inally theirs,  I  am  now  traveling. 

The  Sioux,  considered  in  their  respective  dialects 
and    geographical    position,  consist    of   four   divisions. 

1.  The   Winncbagocsj'^  numbering  about  four  thousand. 

2.  The  Sioux  proper,  or  Naudowessies ;  a  name  given 
to  them  by  the  Algonquinsf  and  French,  but  they 
called  themselves  Dahcotas,  ^  and  sometimes  OcJioite 
Shakoaiis.^  These  embraced  four  tribes.  The  population 
was  about  six  thousand.  3.  The  Assiniboins  \  estimated 
to  be  twenty-eight  thousand,  but  by  others  only  five 
thousand  souls,  yet  this  is  considered  to  be  underrated. 
This  division  comprehends  several  other  tribes.  4.  The 
Osage,^  the  most  numerous  and  powerful  of  any  of 
the  neighboring  tribes,  and  comprehending  many  other 
subdivisions.  They  numbered  from  five  to  eight  thou- 
sand souls.  The  entire  Sioux  nation,  including  some 
erratic  tribes,  and  in  general  all  those  who  speak  the 
Sioux  language,  may  be  computed  at  more  than  fifty 
thousand  persons. 

The  Boston  Herald''"'-'  with  great  truth  makes  the 
following  remarks :  "  Apart  from  any  grievance  which 
may  be  due  to  governmental  mismanagement,  there  is 
a  great  deal  in  the  surroundings  of  Indian  tribes  in  our 
Western  States  and  Territories  which  makes  an  Indian 
war  at  all  times  possible.  The  current  belief  that  the 
red  men  under  no  circumstances  are  to  be  trusted,  finds 
shape  in  the  well-known  trans-Mississippi  proverb  that 
the  only  safe  Indian  is  a  dead  Indian.     There  may  be 


*  Winnebago  means  "  turbid-water  people." 
f  Algonquin  means  "  caters  of  trees." 

*  Dahcota  means  "  strikers." 

^  Oclicnte  Shakoans  means  "  the  seven  fires." 

I  Assiniboin  means  "stone  Indiuiis."      ^  Osage  means  "strong." 

**  July  10,  1878, 


40 


A    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


benevolent  men  upon  the  plains,  but  their  philanthropy 
rarely  extends  so  far  as  to  include  the  Indian.  Ninety- 
nine  white  men  can  conceive  no  settlement  of  the  In- 
dian problem  other  than  extermination.  It  is  true  that 
this  theory  is  not  put  into  practice,  but  it  is,  neverthe- 
less, an  opinion  tenaciously  held  to,  and  it  must  in 
man}'  ways  influence  their  deaUngs  with  all  Indians 
with  whom  they  may  happen  to  come  in  contact.  Now 
we  submit  that  this  of  itself  might  be  sufficient  to  ac- 
count for  distrust  and  dislike  of  the  white  men  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians.  If  an}'  class  of  men  in  our  midst 
were  put  under  an  implied  condemnation  of  this  kind, 
they  would  very  quickly  become  little  better  than  so- 
cial outlaws,  and  would  furnish  numerous  opportuni- 
ties and  excuses  for  giving  effect  to  the  judgment  that 
had  been  pronounced  upon  them." 

This  infamous  theory  of  a  general  extermination  is 
so  widely  spread  that,  in  1876,  Mr.  Wendell  Phillips,  in- 
formed of  the  bloodthirsty  policy  attributed  to  Gene- 
ral Sherman,  which  he  nobly  rebuked,  sent  a  letter  to 
this  officer  for  information.  Yet  it  is  certain  that  this 
doctrine  of  a  general  extermination  of  the  Indians  has 
been  ruthlessly  advocated  by  such  papers  as  the  New 
York  Herald:'-- 

The  cause  of  the  whole  trouble  with  the  Sioux  In- 
dians can  be  traced  from  the  interviews  of  the  commis- 
sioner, Hoyt,  with  Spotted  Tail  and  other  Indian  chiefs. 
The  Catholic  Standard  gives  a  brief  summary  of  the 
speech  of  Spotted  Tail.f  It  is  the  following  :  "  I  went 
to  the  (jreat  Father  and  saw  him.  He  told  me  that 
there  was  no  money  to  haul  my  goods  and  provisions. 

*  See  New  York  Tablet,  New  Scries,  Vol.  V.,  No.  14,  Aug.  24,  1878. 

f  See  Wendell  Phillips'  letter  to  (General  Sherman  in  the  Catholit 
Rc'7'h-;(',  Vol.  X,   No.  5,  July  29,  1S76. 


SPEECH  OF  SPOTTED   TAIL. 


41 


He  told  me  to  come  here  and  eat  my  food.  That  was 
the  law  my  Great  Father  gave  me,  and  I  have  stuck  to 
it.  My  Great  Father  told  me,  '  When  you  go  back, 
pick  out  a  good  country.'  I  have  done  so.  I  now  want 
to  move  inside  of  ten  days.  That  is  what  my  Great 
Father  told  me,  and  that  he  would  give  me  wagons  and 
big  horses  so  as  to  mow  the  grass.  He  said  he  would 
give  us  a  big  school-house,  and  I  told  him  I  wanted  the 
Catholic  priests,  and  you  heard  it,  and  Red  Cloud  said 
the  same  thing.  These  people  here  who  are  ringing  the 
bells  (Episcopalian  clergymen  on  the  reservation)  are 
lying  to  me  all  the  time  ;  take  them  back  ;  I  don't  want 
them.  If  you  can't  let  me  have  the  priests,  I  don't 
want  any  of  them  at  all.  I  have  picked  out  another 
place  at  the  mouth  of  the  White  River  to  have  my  sup- 
plies unloaded  near  my  agency.  These  are  my  wishes 
and  those  of  my  children.  Tell  my  Great  Father  when 
you  get  back. 

"  The  Catholic  priests  are  the  only  ones  I  want  to 
educate  my  children,  so  that  they  can  read  and  write.  My 
Great  Father  gave  me  Major  Lee  as  father,  but  took 
him  away  and  gave  me  another.  I  would  like  to  have 
him  for  ten  years  (meaning  Major  William  T.  Pollack, 
the  agent  now  in  charge).  I  do  not  like  to  change 
agents  after  they  know  my  ways.  Look  at  us  all,  and 
see  if  we  are  not  able  to  work.  Hire  forty  or  fifty  of 
us  and  pay  us  ;  see  if  we  can't  work.  How  much  will 
you  pay  us  a  month?" 

"  Here  is  a  fair  statement,"  continues  the  Catholic 
Standard,  "  of  the  whole  trouble  by  Spotted  Tail.  The 
Government  wishes  the  Indians  to  give  up  a  roving, 
migratory  life  and  become  civilized.  To  make  this 
practicable  the  Ciovernment  promises  certain  things, 
and  then,  partly  through  remissness  in  making  the 
necessary  appropriations,  and  still  more  through  the  dis- 


42 


A    TO  ['A'  fX  BOTH  HEMl  SPHERES. 


honesty  of  its  own  agents,  it  violates  those  promises. 
The  Indians  are  willing  to  do  what  the  Government, 
through  its  treaties  with  them,  binds  them  to  do,  but  it 
neglects  to  fulfill  its  own  stipulations.  Education  and 
religion,  both  the  Government  and  Indians  agree,  are 
indispensable  to  their  attaining  a  civilized  condition. 
The  Indians  are  desirous  to  have  schools  and  priests. 
The  Government  sends  them  teachers  whom  they  can't 
respect,  and  ministers  whom  they  don't  want.  When 
the  Indians  remonstrate  the  Commissioner  replies, 
'About  religion  and  priests  I  have  nothing  to  do.'  " 

This  is  simply  an  evasion,  or  rather  it  is  what  Spotted 
Tail,  who  uses  plain  Anglo-Saxon,  says  it  is,  a  down- 
right lie.  If  the  United  States  Government  has 
"  nothing  to  do  with  religion,"  why  has  it  been  forcing 
Methodist  and  Episcopalian  ministers  upon  the  In- 
dians ?  Why  does  it  not  abstain  altogether  from  pay- 
ing them  salaries  for  services  they  don't  perform  and 
can  not  perform,  because,  apart  from  other  reasons,  the 
Indians  detest  and  despise  them?  Why  does  it  forbid 
Catholic  priests — whom  the  Indians  universally  respect, 
and  whom  they  welcome — from  going,  freely  and  with- 
out any  restriction  whatever,  among  them  ?  If  the 
United  States  Government  will  have  n.othing  to  do 
about  religion,  so  much  the  better,  so  far  as  the  Indians 
are  concerned.  The  Christian  religion  is  a  necessity  to 
the  civilization  of  the  Indians.  They  recognize  it  as 
such,  and  if  the  United  States  Government  will  cease 
to  intermeddle  with  them  on  the  subject  of  religion, 
the  necessary  provisions  will  be  made  by  the  Indians 
themselves,  or  by  those  in  whom  they  have  confidence, 
and  whom  they  \\\\\  listen  to.  Let  the  Indians  simply 
have  religious  freedom.  They  ask  it,  and  they  have  a 
right  to  it. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  United  States  Government 


CAPTAIN  JACK.  43 

insists  on  providing  religious  instruction  for  the  In- 
dians, let  it  be  that  form  and  kind  of  religion  which  the 
Indians  desire. 

"The  Catholic  religion,"  continues  the  same  Catholic 
Standard,  "  is  not  an  illicit  religion  in  the  United 
States,  though  Protestant  bigots  would  gladly  make 
it  so  if  they  could.  It  has  proved  its  power  time 
and  again  to  reclaim  from  barbarism  uncivilized  peo- 
ples— peoples  who  were  far  more  savage  than  our  In- 
dians are,  or  ever  were.  It  has  shown  its  efficacy  ii"". 
improving  and  elevating  our  Indians  wherever  it  ha? 
been  allowed  access  to  them." 

Give,  then,  the  Indians  Catholic  priests,  whom  they 
persistently  ask  for,  or  allow  them  free  choice  as  be- 
tween Protestant  ministers  and  Catholic  priests,  and  as 
regards  school-teachers.  Then  fulfill  the  stipulations 
repeatedly  made  in  treaties,  and  as  repeatedly  broken, 
and  the  whole  trouble  will  speedily  be  ended. 

Here  I  have  to  remark  that  Commissioner  Hoyt  told 
Spotted  Tail  that  he  could  not  go  to  the  land  which  he 
had  chosen.  Spotted  Tail  was  c^uite  bitter  at  this,  and 
replied :  "  Those  bald-headed  men  (meaning  Congress- 
men) have  always  fooled  me,  and  kept  me  moving  from 
agency  to  agency."'" 

It  would  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  relate  what  a 
veteran  Catholic  missionary  said,  referring  to  the  Modoc 
war.f  The  name  of  Captain  Jack  is  familiar.  He  was 
hanged.  Why?  Because,  in  a  moment  of  desperation, 
when  every  hope  of  obtaining  justice  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  republic  had  vanished,  he  shot  one  of  it- 
Generals.  After  Captain  Jack's  death,  a  famous  Cath- 
ctlic  missionary  ^\■as  asked  if  he  knew  him,  and  what  he 


*  Boston  ]Ierald,  Monday  morning,  July  29,  1878. 

f  New  York  Tablet,  New  Scries,  Vol.  III.,  No.  10,  July  2(j,  1876. 


44 


./    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


thought  of  the  Modoc  chief.  ''  Yes,  I  knew  him,"  ro- 
plicd  the  priest,  "and  admired  him.  He  was  a  wonder- 
fully brave  and  honorable  man.  He  would  not  lie,  and 
he  would  nevxT  forgive  a  man  who  lied  to  him.  I  know 
that  he  bore  outrages  of  the  most  awful  character. 
The  settlers  attacked  the  squaws  of  his  tribe  often 
when  they  were  on  berrying  excursions,  and  an  indig- 
nity to  his  squaw  is  the  deadliest  crime  against  the  free 
Indian  who  has  not  been  contaminated  by  living  near 
the  cities,  nor  in  the  societ}^  of  rufifianly  whites.  Yet 
Captain  Jack  did  not  enter  on  the  war-path.  Once  he 
went  to_  l^^ort  Warner  to  complain  of  an  outrage  on  a 
Modoc  woman,  and  was  met  by  a  lieutenant,  who,  for 
some  strange  reason,  slapped  his  face.  Captain  Jack 
fired  at  his  assailant,  but  did  not  hit  him  ;  and  after 
reaching  his  tribe,  he  afterward  had  very  little  inter- 
course with  the  whites.  He  would  have  become  a 
Christian  but  that  he  hated  Indian  agents.  He  often 
said  to  me  that  'if  Indian  agents  had  the  opportunity  to 
get  into  the  happy  hunting-grounds,  he  did  not  wish  to 
go  thither.'  " 

The  war  in  1876,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  Gen. 
Crook's  army,  and  the  annihilati(Mi  of  Custer's  small 
force,  evoked  a  great  cr\-  for  revenge  throughout  the 
land,  and  a  threat  and  hope  of  the  speedy  and  utter 
extermination  of  the  red  man.  Yet  it  was  a  regular 
drawn  battle  against  armed  men  seeking  their  destruc- 
tion that  the  Indians  waged.  Their  hearts  were  em- 
bittered and  their  passions  inflamed  by  the  duplicity  of 
the  Federal  Government,  evidenced  in  scores  of  dis- 
honored treaties,  and  by  the  cruelty  of  some  of  its  offi- 
cers who  never  hesitated  to  murder  even  their  women 
and  children.  This  war  was  brought  on  by  the  viola- 
tion on  our  part  of  a  solemn  treaty  entered  into  with 
the  Sioux  Indians  in  1868.     It  was  then,  at  the  instance 


FA  TITER  DE  SME  T. 


45 


of  the  United  States  Government,  that  great  mission- 
ar>',  Father  Dc  Smet,  in  company  with  Gens.  Sherman, 
Sheridan,  Harney,  Terry,  Sinborn,  and  other  members  of 
a  peace  commission,  went  to  meet  the  Indians  in  a  grand 
council  in  order  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace  that  was 
to  be  honorable  and  lasting.  But  of  all  the  savages  that 
roam  over  the  plains  watered  by  the  Upper  Missouri, 
but  few  tribes  were  friendly  and  peaceful.  Red  Cloud 
and  Spotted  Tail  could  be  relied  upon,  but  those  under 
the  leadership  of  Sitting  Bull,  an  Uncpapa  chief,  were 
avowedly  hostile.  The  difficult  task  of  reaching  the 
hostile  tribes,  of  coming  to  the  council,  and  signing 
the  treaty,  was  assigned  to  Father  De  Smet,  who  was 
empowered  so  to  do  by  the  Government.  He  traveled 
thither  accompanied  by  Mr.  Galpin,  an  Indian  trader ; 
visited  those  wild  savages,  and  held  many  councils  with 
them.  He  met  Two  Bears,  chief  of  the  Yancktons ; 
Running  Antelope,  chief  of  the  Uncpapas  ;  Bear's  Rib, 
The  Log,  Black-all-over,  Spirit-Ghost,  Little  Dog,  Sit- 
ting Raven,  Crazy  Horse,  Other-Day,  Red  Iron,  Hole- 
in-t"he-day,  Standing  Buffalo,  Cut  Nose,  Lean  Bear, 
White  Dog,  Rattling  Runner,  Black  Moon,  Four  Horns, 
and  many  other  brave  chiefs. 

Father  De  Smet  extended  words  of  peace  to  them, 
and  proposed  the  articles  of  the  treaty  to  be  signed  and 
stipulated  by  both  parties. 

I  pass  over  the  entire  proceeding  in  bringing  the 
Indians  to  make  this  treaty,  which  can  be  read 
in  the  CatJiolic  Review  (Vol.  X.,  No.  4),  but  I  can  not  re- 
frain from  recounting  some  of  the  remarks  made  by  the 
Indian  orators.  Father  De  Smet,  in  waking  from  a  long 
sleep,  found  in  his  tepee,  Sitting  Bull,  Four  Horns, 
Black  Moon,  and  the  Man-without-a-neck.  Sitting  Bull 
advanced  and  addressed  him  these  words  :  "  Black  Robe, 
the  blood  of  the  whites  is  on  my  hands,  and  it  rests  o.n 


46  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

me  as  a  heavy  burden.  But  the  whites  began  the  war. 
Their  many  acts  of  injustice  toward  us,  their  disgrace- 
ful treatment  of  our  famihes,  their  most  cruel  butchery 
of  six  hundred  of  our  wives,  children,  and  gray-haired 
parents,  have  filled  my  veins  with  fire.  I  have  seized 
the  tomahawk  and  have  sought  revenge  in  every  way 
possible.  To-day  you  come  into  our  camp,  and  my 
arms  lie  motionless  beside  me.  I  will  listen  to  your 
proposals  for  peace,  and  as  wicked  as  I  have  been  to- 
ward the  whites  once,  just  so  peaceable  and  good  am  I 
ready  to  become." 

The  meeting  was  held  on  June  2ist,  in  a  large  field. 
The  calumet  was  passed  around,  and  each  one  present 
having  smoked  from  it.  Father  De  Smet  being  the  first 
to  receive  it  from  Four  Horns  (who  had  opened  the 
meeting).  Father  De  Smet  proceeded  to  make  the  pro. 
posals  of  peace.  Many  orators  spoke.  The  oration  of 
Black  Moon  will  be  sufficient  as  a  specimen  of  all.  Ris- 
ing to  his  feet,  the  calumet  in  his  hand,  addressing  his 
people,  he  said  :  "  Lend  your  ears  to  my  words."  Then 
solemnly  raising  the  pipe  to  heaven,  and  again  pointing 
it  toward  the  earth,  as  if  to  take  heaven  and  earth  to 
witness  the  truth  of  what  he  would  say,  he  passed  the 
pipe  to  Father  De  Smet,  who  touched  it  with  his  lips, 
took  a  few  puffs,  and  passed  it  to  the  others,  then  Black 
Moon  in  a  loud  voice  commenced  :  "  The  Black  Robe  has 
journeyed  far  to  come  among  us  ;  his  presence  here  with 
us  sends  a  thrill  of  joy  through  me,  and  with  all  my 
heart  I  bid  him  welcome  to  my  country.  The  words 
that  the  Black  Robe  has  addressed  us  are  comprehen- 
sible, good,  and  full  of  truth.  I  shall  carefully  keep 
them  in  my  memory.  Nevertheless,  our  hearts  arc  ul- 
cered, and  have  received  deep  wounds,  which  still  re- 
main unhealed.  A  cruel  war  has  desolated  and  impov- 
erished our  countrw     The  desolating  torch  of  war  has 


THE  CHEYENNES. 


47 


not  been  lighted  by  us.  It  was  the  Sioux  of  the  East 
and  the  Cheyennes  in  the  South  that  struck  the  first 
blow,  a  blow  of  retaliation  and  of  vengeance  for  the  in- 
justice and  the  cruelties  of  the  whites.  We  have  been 
forced  to  take  part  in  it,  for  we  also  have  been  victims 
of  their  rapacity  and  their  misdeeds.  Now,  when  wc 
pass  over  our  plains,  we  find  here  and  there  the  verdure 
spotted  with  blood.  The  spots  are  not  of  the  red  blood 
of  the  buffalo  or  the  deer  killed  in  the  chase,  but  of  the 
blood  of  our  own  comrades,  or  of  whites  immolated  to 
our  vengeance. 

"  The  buffalo,  the  stag,  and  the  antelope  have  quitted 
our  immense  plains,  and  can  not  be  found  but  far  asun- 
der, and  always  in  decreasing  numbers.  It  is  not  the 
odor  of  human  blood  that  has  put  them  to  flight ! 
Against  our  wishes  the  whites  intersect  our  country 
with  their  railroad  and  highways,  with  their  routes  for 
transport  and  for  emigration  ;  they  build  forts  at  differ- 
ent points,  and  surmount  them  with  their  thunder. 
They  kill  our  animals  out  of  all  proportion  to  their 
wants.  They  are  cruel  to  our  people,  they  kill  and  mal- 
treat them  without  cause,  or  for  the  least  possible  mo- 
tive ;  everywhere  they  are  looking  for  food,  game,  or 
roots  for  their  children  or  their  wives.  They  cut  down 
our  forests  in  face  of  our  protest,  and  without  giving  us 
the  value  of  them.  In  fine,  they  run  us  and  our  coun- 
try. We  are  opposed  to  the  railroad  and  highways  that 
drive  away  the  buffalo  from  our  lands;  it  is  our  soil, 
and  we  are  determined  not  to  cede  it.  Here  our  fa- 
thers were  born,  and  here  their  bones  rest,  and  we 
their  children  desire  to  live  here  as  they  did, 
and  that  our  bones  repose  in  the  same  soil.  We 
have  been  forced  to  hate  the  whites;  let  them  treat 
us  as  brothers,  and  the  war  shall  cease.  Let  them  re- 
main  in    their   own    country.     We   shall   never  lr()ul)lc 


48  ^4    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

them.  The  idea  of  seeing  them  coming  and  building 
their  cabins  among  us,  is  revolting  to  us,  and  we  are 
determined  to  oppose  them  or  to  die.  As  for  thee, 
messenger  of  peace,  thou  givest  us  a  vision  of  a  better 
future.  Well,  be  it  so !  Let  us  hope  so !  Let  us 
stretch  a  veil  over  the  past  and  forget  it.  One  word 
more.  In  the  presence  of  all  'my  people,  I  express  to 
thee  here  my  gratitude  for  the  good  news  thou  hast 
brought  us,  and  above  all,  for  thy  good  counsel  and 
advice." 

It  was  the  neglect  on  our  part  to  fulfill  this  treaty 
that  resulted  in  the  unfortunate  war  against  the  Sioux, 
a  war  which  proved  fatal  to  the  American  troops.  The 
Indians  observed  the  w'hites  taking  possession  of  their 
land  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Government,  and  being 
demoralized  by  Indian  traders,  who  sold  them  fire-arms, 
ammunition,  scalping -knives,  and  plenty  of  bad  rum 
and  whisky,  they  were  in  a  kind  of  delirious  despair.  In 
vain  they  repeatedly  appealed  to  the  Government  for 
redress;  then  they  tried  to  expel  by  force  the  intruders 
who  had  taken  possession  of  their  land.  Then  General 
Custer  was  sent  to  chastise  the  Sioux,  but  he  was  chas- 
tised by  them.  This  affair  w'as  styled  massacre.  Mr. 
Wendell  Phillips  wrote  to  the  editor  of  the  Boston 
Transcript  : 

"  Will  you  please  explain  why  even  your  columns  talk 
of  the  '  Custer  Massacre'  ?  The  Sioux  war,  all  confess,  is 
one  that  our  misconduct  provoked.  During  such  a  w^ar 
General  Custer  has  fallen  in  a  fair  fight,  simply  because 
the  enemy  had  more  soldiery,  skill,  and  strategy  than 
Custer  had.  W'hat  kind  of  war  is  it  when  if  we  kill  the 
enemy  it  is  death;  if  he  kill  us,  it  is  a  massacre?"  etc. 

One  of  the  causes  of  the  so-called  massacres  of  1862-3 
was  the  violation  of  the  treaty  with  the  Indians  in  1852. 
They  were   entrapped  to  sell   land   for  the  purpose  of 


THE  DAKOTA  S. 


49 


paying  traders  for  real  or  pretended  debts.  These 
traders,  knowing  that  the  whites  will  purchase  the  lands, 
sell  the  Indians  goods  on  credit,  expecting  to  realize 
the  money  from  the  price  paid  by  the  Government. 
Their  familiarity  with  the  Indian  language  secures  their 
instrumentality  in  the  treaty.  They  coax  the  Indians, 
making  them  believe  that  by  selling  the  land  they 
would  receive  an  immense  amount  of  money,  and  that 
thenceforth  they  would  live  at  case,  with  plenty  to 
eat  and  drink,  plenty  to  wear,  plenty  of  powder  and 
lead,  and  anything  else  they  shall  request.  After  the 
treaty  is  agreed  to,  the  amount  of  ready  money  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  exorbitant  demands  of  the  traders,  and 
by  the  expense  of  the  removal  of  the  Indians  to  their 
reservation.  Thus  the  Indians  remain  without  land, 
and  get  no  price  for  it.  About  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars  due  to  the  Sioux  under  the  treatises  of  1851-52 
was  paid  to  the  traders  on  old  indebtedness."  So  in- 
tense was  the  indignation  of  the  Indians,  that  there  was 
great  fear  of  an  attack  upon  the  Government  officials 
and  traders.  Here  I  relate  an  interview  of  Red  Iron, 
principal  chief  of  the  Sissctons,  and  Governor  Ramsey, 
the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  one  of  the 
commissioners  who  made  the  treaties. f 

The  council  was  crowded  with  Indians  and  white 
men.  Red  Iron  was  brought  in  guarded  by  soldiers. 
He  was  clad  in  the  half  military  and  half  Indian  cos- 
tume of  the  Dakota  chiefs.  His  physiognomy  beamed 
intelligence  and  displayed  resolution.  He  was  seated 
in  the  council-room  without  greeting  or  salutation  from 
any  one.  In  a  few  minutes  the  Governor,  turning  to 
the  chief,  and   in  the  midst  of  a  breathless  silence,  by 


*  See  History  of  the  Sioux  War  in  1862-63,  by  Isaac  W  D.  Heard. 
Chap.  H. 
f  Ibidem. 

3 


50 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


the  aid  of  an  interpreter,  opened  the  council  by  asking, 
"What  excuse  have  you  for  not  coming  to  the  council 
when  I  sent  for  you  ?  " 

The  Dakota  chief  rose  to  his  feet  with  native  grace 
and  dignity,  his  blanket  falling  from  his  shoulders. 
Purposely  dropping  the  pipe  of  peace,  he  stood  erect 
before  the  Governor  with  his  arms  folded  and  right 
hand  pressed  upon  the  sheath  of  his  scalping- knife. 
With  the  utmost  coolness  and  prepossession,  and  a  de- 
fiant smile  playing  upon  his  thin  lips,  while  his  eyes 
were  sternly  fixed  upon  his  excellency,  with  firm  voice 
he  replied  : 

"  I  started  to  come,  but  your  braves  drove  me  back." 

Governor.  "  What  excuse  have  you  for  not  coming 
the  second  time  I  sent  for  you  ?  " 

Red  Iron.  "  No  other  excuse  than  I  have  given  }-ou." 

Governor.  "  At  the  treaty  I  thought  you  a  good  man  ; 
but  since,  you  have  acted  badly,  and  I  am  disposed  to 
break  you — I  do  break  you." 

Red  Iron.  "  You  break  me  !  My  people  made  mc  a 
chief.  My  people  love  me.  I  will  still  be  their  chief. 
I  have  done  nothing  wrong." 

Governor.  "  Red  Iron,  why  did  you  get  your  braves 
together  and  march  around  here  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
timidating other  chiefs  and  prevent  their  coming  to  the 
council  ?" 

Red  Iron.  "I  did  not  get  my  braves  together;  they 
got  together  themselves  to  prevent  boys  going  to  coun 
cil  to  be  made  chiefs,  to  sign  papers  ;  and  to  prc\'ent 
single  chiefs  going  to  council  at  night  to  be  bribed  to  sign 
papers  for  money  we  have  never  got.  We  ha\-e  heard 
how  the  M'dezoakantons  were  served  at  Mendota — ^that 
by  secret  councils  you  got  their  names  on  paper  and  took 
away  their  money.  We  don't  want  to  be  served  so.  ^ly 
braves  wanted  to  come  to  council  in  the  daytime,  when 


A  BRAVE  SPEECH. 


51 


the  sun  shines,  and  we  want  no  councils  in  the  dark. 
We  want  all  our  people  to  go  to  council  together,  so 
that  we  can  all  know  what  is  done." 

Governor.  "  Why  did  you  attempt  to  come  to  coun- 
cil with  your  braves  when  I  had  forbidden  your  braves 
coming  to  council?" 

Red  Iron.  "  You  invited  the  chiefs  only,  and  would 
not  let  the  braves  come  too.  This  is  not  the  way  we 
have  been  treated  before;  this  is  not  according  to  our 
customs,  for  among  Dakotas,  chiefs  and  braves  go  to 
council  together.  When  you  first  sent  for  us  there  were 
two  or  three  chiefs  here,  and  we  wanted  to  wait  till  the 
rest  would  come,  that  we  might  all  be  in  council  to- 
gether, and  know  what  was  done,  and  so  that  we  might 
all  understand  the  paper,  and  what  we  were  signing. 
When  we  signed  the  treaty,  the  traders  threw  a  blanket 
over  our  faces,  and  darkened  our  eyes,  and  made  us 
sign  papers  which  we  did  not  understand,  and  which 
were  not  explained  or  read  to  us.  We  want  our  Great 
Father  at  Washington  to  know  what  has  been  done." 

Governor.  "  Your  Great  Father  has  sent  me  to  rep- 
resent him,  and  what  I  say  is  what  he  says.  He  wants 
you  to  pay  your  old  debts  in  accordance  with  the  paper 
you  signed  when  the  treaty  was  made,  and  to  leave  that 
money  in  my  hands  to  pay  these  debts.  If  you  refuse 
to  do  that,  I  will  take  the  money  back." 

Red  Iron.  "  You  can  take  the  money  back.  We  sold 
our  land  to  you,  and  you  promised  to  pay  us.  If  you 
don't  give  us  the  money  I  will  be  glad,  and  all  our 
people  will  be  glad,  for  we  will  have  our  land  back  if 
you  don't  give  us  the  money.  That  paper  was  not  in- 
terpreted or  explained  to  us.  We  are  told  it  gives 
about  300  ($300,000)  boxes  of  our  money  to  some  of  the 
traders.  We  don't  think  we  owe  them  so  much.  We 
want  to  pay  all  our  debts.     We  want  our  Great  Father 


52  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

to  send  three  good  men  here  to  tell  us  how  much  we  do 
owe,  and  whatever  they  say  we  will  pay,  and  (pointing 
to  the  Indians)  that's  what  all  these  braves  say.  Our 
chiefs  and  all  our  people  say  this."  All  the  Indians 
present  responded,  "  Ho,  ho." 

Governor.  "  That  can't  be  done.  You  owe  more 
than  your  money  will  pay,  and  I  am  ready  now  to  pay 
your  annuity  and  no  more,  and  when  you  are  ready  to 
receive  it  the  agent  will  pay  you." 

Red  Iron.  "  We  will  receive  our  annuity,  but  we  will 
sign  no  papers  for  anything  else.  The  snow  is  on  the 
ground,  and  we  have  been  wailing  a  long  time  to  get 
our  money.  We  arc  poor;  you  have  plenty.  Your 
fires  are  warm  ;  your  tepees  keep  out  the  cold.  We 
have  nothing  to  cat.  W'e  have  been  waiting  a  long 
time  for  our  money.  Our  hunting-season  is  past.  A 
great  many  of  our  people  are  sick  for  being  hungry. 
We  may  die  because  you  won't  pay  us.  We  may  die, 
but  if  we  do,  we  will  leave  our  bones  on  the  ground, 
that  our  Great  Father  may  sec  where  his  Dakota  chil- 
dren died.  We  are  very  poor.  W'c  have  sold  our 
hunting-grounds  and  the  graves  of  our  fathers.  We  have 
sold  our  own  graves.  We  have  no  place  to  bury  our 
dead,  and  you  will  not  pay  us  the  money  of  our  lands.' 

The  council  was  broken  up,  and  Red  Iron  was  sent  to 
the  guard-house,  where  he  was  kept  till  next  day.  The 
braves  departed  in  sullen  silence,  headed  by  Lean  Bear, 
to  a  spot  not  far  off,  and  after  having  uttered  a  succes- 
sion of  yells,  the  gathering  signal  of  the  Dakotas,  he 
being  the  principal  brave  of  Red  Iron's  band,  throwing 
his  blanket  from  his  shoulders,  he  grasped  his  scalping- 
knife,  and,  brandishing  it  in  his  right  hand,  he  recounted 
to  his  comrades  the  warlike  deed  of  their  imprisoned 
chief,  Red  Iron  (Maza-sha),  to  which  they  all  respond- 
ed, "  Ho,  ho,"  many  times,  and  in   their  most  earnest 


THE  DAKOTA  S.  5.5 

tones.  Then  he  addressed  them  in  a  war-talk  :  "  Dako- 
tas,"  said  he,  "  the  big  men  are  here,  they  have  got 
Maza-sha  (Red  Iron)  in  a  pen  Hke  a  wolf.  They  mean 
to  kill  him  for  not  letting  the  big  men  cheat  us  out  of 
our  lands  and  the  money  our  Great  Father  sent  us. 
Dakotas,  must  we  starve  like  buffaloes  in  the  snow? 
Shall  we  let  our  blood  freeze  like  the  little  streams?  Or 
shall  we  make  the  snow  red  with  the  blood  of  the  white 
braves?"  etc.,  exhorting  them  to  battle. 

I  finish  this  subject  by  quoting  a  few  lines  from  a  let- 
ter of  Bishop  Whipple,  of  Minnesota""'' :  "  The  nation 
has  heard  of  the  most  fearful  Indian  massacre  in  history  ; 
but  those  who  live  remote  from  the  border  can  have  no 
idea  of  the  awful  horrors  which  have  accompanied  the 
desolation  of  two  hundred  miles  of  the  fairest  country 
on  the  earth.  Many  of  these  victims  of  savage  ferocity 
were  my  friends.  They  had  mingled  their  voices  with 
mine  in  prayer ;  they  had  given  such  hospitality  as  can 
only  be  found  in  the  log-cabin  of  the  frontier.  It  fills 
my  heart  with  grief  and  blinds  my  eyes  with  tears  when- 
ever I  think  of  their  nameless  graves There  is 

not  a  man  in  America  who  ever  gave  an  hour's  calm  re- 
flection to  this  subject,  who  does  not  know  that  our  In- 
dian system  is  an  organized  system  of  robber)',  and  has 
been  for  years  a  disgrace  to  the  nation.  It  has  left 
savage  men  without  go\-ernmentaI  control ;  it  has 
looked  on  unconcerned  at  every  crime  against  the  law 
of  God  and  man  ;  it  has  fostered  savage  life  by  wasting 
thousands  of  dollars  in  the  i)urchase  of  paint,  beads, 
scalping-knives,  and  tomahawks;!  it  has  fostered  a  s}'s- 


■*This  letter  can  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  above-quoted  History 
of  the  Sioux  War. 

f  In  the  advertisement  for  Indian  supjilies  durin.t;  the  autumn  of  the 
Sioux  massacre  were  kj  j  d(jz.  scal[)inj(-knives,  6o(j  lbs.  of  beads,  100 
doz.  butcher-knives,  150  lbs.  of  paint. 


54  A    rOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

tern  of  trade  which  robbed  the  thrifty  and  virtuous  to 
pay  the  debts  of  the  indolent  and  vicious ;  it  has  squan- 
dered the  funds  of  civihzation  and  schools ;  it  has  con- 
nived at  theft ;  it  has  winked  at  murder ;  and,  at  last, 
after  dragging  the  savage  down  to  a  brutishness  un- 
known to  his  fathers,  it  has  brought  a  harvest  of  blood 
to  our  own  door. 

'•■....  There  is  not  to-day  an  old  citizen  of  Minnesota 
who  will  not  shrug  his  shoulders  as  he  speaks  of  the  dis- 
honesty which  accompanied  the  purchases  of  the  lands 
of  the  Sioux.     It  left  in  savage  minds  a  deep  sense  of 

injustice The  people  here   on   the  border,  and 

the  rulers  at  Washington,  know  how  that  faith  has 
been  broken.  The  constant  irritation  of  such  a  system 
would  in  time  have  secured  an  Indian  massacre.  It  was 
hastened  and  precipitated  by  the  sale  of  nearly  800,000 
acres  of  land,  for  which  they  never  received  one  farthing, 
for  it  was  all  absorbed  in  claims.  Then  came  the  story 
(and  it  was  true)  that  half  of  their  annuity  money  had  also 
been  taken  for  claims.  They  waited  two  months,  mad, 
exasperated,  hungry — the  agent  utterly  powerless  to 
undo  the  wrong  committed  at  Washington — and  they 
resolved  on  savage  vengeance.  For  every  dollar  of 
which  they  have  been  defrauded  we  shall  pay  ten  dol- 
lars in  the  cost  of  this  war."  .... 

I. ate  in  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  St.  Peter,  a 
srnall  but  flourishing  old  cit\-,  once  the  stopping-place 
of  the  fur-traders,  coming  with  goods  from  St.  I.ouis 
and  from  New  York.  This  city  is  named  after  a  ri\er 
of  the  same  name,  but  its  real  designation  is  Minne- 
sota Ri\cr,  from  which  the  State  of  Minncsc^ta  deri\'ed 
its  nomenclature.  This  large  ri\'er,  so  famous  in  the  an-  • 
nals  of  the  Sioux  Indians,  issues  from  Big  Stone  Lake, 
and  after  a  long  course  south-east,  at  South  Bend  forms 
a  ver\'  sharp  angle   and   changes  its  course   north-east. 


THE  MISSOURI. 


55 


and  after  another  long  run  in  that  direction  discharges 
its  waters  into  the  Mississippi,  twelve  miles  above  St. 
Anthony's  Falls. 

At  the  break  of  day  we  entered  Sioux  City,  a  small 
new  city,  but  its  name  is  connected  with  the  bloody  wars 
of  that  warlike  nation.  There  we  took  some  tolerable 
refreshment,  expecting  to  breakfast  at  Omaha.  Near 
Dakota  City  the  Big  Sioux  River  enters  the  Missouri, 
which  is  one  of  the  largest  rivers  in  America,  and  which 
unites  with  the  Mississippi  a  little  below  latitude  30. 
It  rises  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  three  branches, 
which,  uniting  together,  take  the  name  of  Missouri. 
The  spring  sources  of  this  river,  and  those  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, which  run  west  into  the  Pacific,  arc  Avithin  one 
mile  of  each  other.  The  length  of  the  Missouri  is  3,100 
miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  and  1,300 
miles  from  its  mouth  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  which 
makes  the  total  of  4,400  miles.  Many  consider  the 
Missouri  to  be  the  principal,  and  the  Mississippi  only  a 
branch  of  it;  and  in  reality  at  the  junction  of  these  two 
mighty  rivers,  the  Missouri  carries  more  waters  than 
the  ^lississippi,  because  it  receives  a  greater  number 
and  larger  rivers  than  the  latter.  It  receives  the  Yel- 
low Stone,  the  Dakota,  the  Platte  or  Nebraska,  the 
Osage,  the  Kansas,  etc.  The  White  River  is  navigable 
for  600  miles.  The  Missouri  is  very  rapid  and  turbid, 
and  narrower  than  the  Mississippi,  and  it  would  be 
navigable  for  \'cry  large  vessels  to  the  three  spring 
sources,  which  are  also  navigable  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance bef(jre  their  junction,  if  it  were  not  for  the  Rocky 
MfHintains.  The  scenery  of  the  Missouri  at  the  place 
where  it  makes  its  escape  from  the  Rocky  Mountains 
is  truly  sublinie.  l""or  nearly  six  miles  the  rocks  rise 
per[)endicularly  from  the  water's  edge,  l,2CO  feet. 
The  river  is  compressed  to  a  narrow  width,  and  rushes 


56 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


through  these  gates  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
magnificent  cataracts  of  the  Missouri  are  no  miles  from 
this  chasm.  The  greatest  cascade  is  87  feet  in  the  per- 
pendicular, and  the  next  is  47.  The  river  descends  357 
feet  within  the  space  of  18  miles,  flowing  swiftly  and 
turbidly,  for  the  most  part,  through  a  flat  prairie  coun- 
try. 

Dakota  City  is  a  small,  new,  and  out-of-the-way  place. 
It  is  in  the  State  of  Nebraska.  The  land  of  this  State 
and  of  Dakota,  did  not  strike  me  as  being  very  rich. 
It  appeared  to  me  to  be  poor,  swampy,  flat,  and  with- 
out wood.  Of  course,  there  are  prairies,  but  it  is  well 
known  that  a  great  extent  of  the  land,  especially  west 
of  the  Upper  Missouri,  is  nothing  but  moving  sand. 
The  countless  buffaloes,  elk,  and  other  animals,  even 
the  prairie-chickens,  that  were  grazing  on  these  prairies, 
have  almost  disappeared,  and  Dakota  State,  especially, 
is  left  a  waste.  I  observed  in  the  fields  a  great  quantity 
of  sun-flowers,  growing  like  weeds,  and  which,  if  not 
removed,  will  fill  and  destroy  that  land. 

In  these  States  of  Minnesota,  Dakota,  Iowa,""  and  Ne- 
braskaf,  I  observed  the  desolation  caused  by  the  so-called 
grasshoppers,  which  have  also  ruined  a  great  part  of  Kan- 
sas.:!; They  had  eaten  up  all  the  crops  and  grass  in  the  fields, 
so  that  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  you  could  not  dis- 
cover a  single  blade  of  verdure.  These  locusts  do  not 
belong  to  that  class  which  make  their  appearance  in  the 
United  States  every  seventeen  years,  and  emerge  from 
the  ground  during  the  night,  about  the  end  of  .\])ril, 
and  do  no  harm  to  vegetation,  except  the  damage  done 
by  the  female  in  depositing  the  eggs,  and  which  are 
considered    by   the    Indians    as    a    very   delicate    food. 


*  Iowa  means  "gray  snow." 

f  Nebraska  means  "  Hat,  or  shallcnv  river. 

X  Kansas  means  "  smoky  water," 


OMAHA. 


57 


These  locusts  belong  to  that  class  which  so  often  have 
desolated  Syria  and  Egypt.  They  travel  in  legions, 
which  darken  the  air  by  their  number,  and  in  a  few  hours 
change  the  most  fertile  provinces  into  barren  deserts. 
The  female  deposits  her  eggs  in  the  earth,  and  the 
young  survive  the  winter  in  the  larvae  state,  concealed 
among  the  decaying  vegetation.  It  is  stated  that  more 
than  once  when  they  visited  some  parts  of  New  En- 
gland, they  not  only  ate  up  all  the  grass  in  the  fields, 
but  actually  attacked  clothing  and  fences  to  appease  their 
great  liunger.  Even  dead  they  are  still  productive  of 
evil  consequences,  because  the  putrefaction  arising  from 
their  immense  number  is  considered  to  be  the  cause  of 
desolating  pestilences.  The  locusts,  when  migrating, 
are  said  to  have  a  leader,  whose  flight  they  observe,  and 
to  whose  movements  they  pay  a  strict  regard. 

We  soon  passed  by  the  Council  Bluffs,  so  called  be- 
cause these  isolated,  circular  hills  in  former  times  were 
the  roidccvous  of  many  Indian  tribes,  where  they  held 
their  councils  and  deliberated  upon  the  affairs  of  the 
entire  nation.  Here  also  the  traders  and  the  agents  of 
the  Government  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting  the  In- 
dians. At  this  point  we  crossed  the  Missouri  Ri\-er, 
and  entered  Omaha"  about  ten  A.M. 

The  width  at  Council  Bluffs  is  about  2,500  feet ;  to 
cross  whicli,  for  Omaha,  an  iron  \-iaduct,  on  eleven  spans, 
was  opened  in  1872. 

*  Omaha  means  "  snow." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

OMAHA — RE-CHECKIXG  OF  BAGGA(;K  FOR  SAN  FRANCISCO  —  UNION  PA- 
CIFIC  RAILROAD — PRAIRIE  DOG  CITY — SALT  LAKE  CITY — MORMONS 
— DOM    PEDRO,    EMPEROR    OF    BRAZIL. 

This  city  derives  its  name  from  the  Omaha  or  Mahas 
tribe  of  Indians  belonging  to  the  great  and  powerful 
Sioux  nation.  It  Hes  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Missouri. 
It  is  the  new  capital  of  the  State  of  Nebraska.  The 
population  at  present  numbers  only  25,000  souls.  Al- 
though Omaha  was  founded  in  1852,  it  was  not  till 
1862  that  it  took  a  sudden  start  and  grew  like  magic, 
when  Congress  determined  on  the  Pacific  route.  The 
Union  Pacific  received  a  subsidy  of  $i6,oco  to  S^j 8,000 
per  mile,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  ground,  and 
grants  of  land  ten  miles  wide  along  the  route.  The 
work  began  in  January,  1866.  Simultaneously  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  from  San  Francisco  started  eastward,  on 
which  side  10,000  Chinamen  were  employed.  f^oth 
lines  are  single  for  the  most  part.  The  route  was  open- 
ed by  the  formal  junction  of  the  two  lines  at  Promon- 
tory Point,  near  Ogden,  on  the  loth  of  May,  1869.  The 
official  connection  w;is  completed  at  Union  Junction,  six 
miles  west  of  Ogden,  by  driving  in  a  gold  spike  with  a 
silver  hammer,  and  the  first  I^nglish  mail  went;  through 
it,  reaching  Sydney,  Australia,  in  two  months  from  San 
Trancisco.  It  is  nearly  half-way  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco  ;  the  time  from  Omaha  to  San  h'rancisco 
is  four  and  a  half  days.  The  entire  time  from  New  York 
to  San  Francisco  is  eight  days.  Yet  in  the  Centennial 
(58) 


THAT  TROUBLESOME  BAGGAGE. 


59 


year  of  this  Republic,  1876,  the  entire  journey  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was  performed  in  eighty- 
two  hours  b)-  a  special  train. 

We  were  obliged  to  stop  till  twelve  o'clock,  as  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  has  only  one  line  and  one 
tlirough  train,  but  two  hours  are  just  sufficient  to  take 
refreshments  and  attend  to  the  baggage,  which  here 
must  be  re-checked.  This  tedious  and  troublesome  op- 
eration can  not  be  performed  till  all  the  trains  on  all  the 
lines  of  raihva}'s  of  the  different  companies  and  from 
other  points  arrive.  These  are  nearly  all  due  about  ten 
o'clock.  I  counted  five  lines.  Then,  at  a  gi\-en  signal, 
all  passengers  must  assemble  in  a  very  extensive  room, 
divided  by  a  long  table,  which  keeps  the  passengers 
from  rushing  into  the  baggage -room.  Then  wagon 
after  wagon  dei)osits  the  baggage  at  the  door  of  the 
baggage-room.  There  a  man  pulls  from  the  wagon 
one  by  one  every  piece,  reads  the  number  of  the  check 
and  the  line  of  railroad,  and  in  handing  the  luggage  to 
the  baggage-master,  names  to  him  the  number  and  line. 
The  ba</<>;a"'(i-master  holdinp;  the  lufjrasje,  with  loud  and 
clear  voice  calls  first  the  line,  then  the  number.  The 
owner  of  the  luggage  answers,  then  another  baggage 
officer  approaches  the  passenger  from  the  table,  receives 
the  check,  and  asks  the  place  of  destination.  He  weighs 
it,  and  if  the  number  of  pounds,  is  abo\'e  what  is  allowed 
free,  mentions  the  rate,  which  he  receives,  and  then  de- 
livers the  other  check.  If  the  owner  does  not  answer 
at  a  second  call,  the  luggage  is  put  aside. 

This  operation  recjuires  considerable  time,  and  as  the 
we  ither  was  extremely  hot  and  sultry,  and  the  place 
sulfocating,  you  may  think  how  anxious  we  were  to 
emerge  from  that  foul-smelling  room.  My  baggage  was 
found  not  to  exceed  the  weight  allowed  fret;,  and  1  w.is 
handed  the  check  without  any  extra  charge.      1  wanted 


6o  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

to  check  a  small  valise  weighing  hardly  three  pounds. 
I  gave  it  to  the  baggage  officer,  but  instead  of  weighing 
it  apart,  he  made  me  return  the  check,  and  putting  it 
together  with  the  rest  of  my  baggage,  weighed  again  the 
whole,  and  found  it  to  exceed  the  free  amount  of  ^\•eight 
by  many  pounds,  for  which  I  was  charged  four  dollars  and 
sixty  cents.  My  fellow  companions  were  extremely  as- 
tonished, and  looked  at  me  to  see  what  I  would  do.  I 
was  obliged  to  pay  double  the  price  of  what  that  valise 
was  worth.  To  several  of  the  passengers  who  were  in- 
dignant at  the  baggage-master,  I  explained  that  there 
was  some  mistake  in  the  first  weight,  because  I  had  per- 
ceived that  one  corner  of  my  trunk  was  not  K'ing  on 
the  scale,  but  on  the  floor.  Although  I  smiled  m\-- 
self  at  a  passenger  who  remarked  to  me  that  I  should 
not  have  returned  the  check,  \\hich  once  given,  could 
not  be  requested  back,  no  doubt  I  felt  somewhat  in- 
dignant. 

I  took  some  refreshment,  and  following  the  example 
of  others,  I  provided  myself  with  luncheon,  which  is 
needed  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  At  twelve 
o'clock  wc  started.  The  railroad  runs  the  whole  length 
of  the  State  of  Nebraska,  and  continuousK^  to  the  left  of 
the  River  Plata.  ^\t  Fremont,  the  train  stops  for  din- 
ner. The  meals  are  now  no  longer  taken  in  the  dining- 
room  once  provided  on  the  train  for  passengers.  It  was 
found  to  be  inconvenient  on  account  of  the  dust  and 
smoke  entering  into  the  cars  and  spoiling  the  food. 
Mere  we  were  i,i20  feet  above  the  sea.  The  Union  Pa- 
cific line  follows  the  valley  of  the  Platte  and  the  former 
wagon-road  up  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  countr}-  presents  nothing  interesting.  The 
level,  barren  })rairies,  look  like  a  desert,  and  were  I  to 
give  a  name  to  this  valley  of  the  Platte,  I  would  call  it 
North  America  Desert.     At   Kearney,  an  old  fortified 


PRAIRIE-DOG  CITY.  6 1 

town  on  the  former  mail  route,  we  are  2,789  feet  above 
the  sea.  Here  the  Central  Branch  line  from  Kansas 
City  joins  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  At  North  Platte 
City,  where  we  took  our  meals,  we  crossed  the  North 
Platte  Riv^er  just  at  the  junction  of  the  North  and 
South  forks  of  this  river.  At  Sidney  we  had  the  first 
view  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  were  just  in  front 
of  us.  About  22  or  23  miles  from  Sidney  wc  enter  the 
Prairie-Dog  Cit\'.  The  railroad  passes  through  this 
village,  which  extends  for  miles.  It  was  an  exciting 
sight  in  this  barren  desert  of  level  prairie,  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  Valley  of  the  Platte,  to  observe  a  large 
extension  of  mounds  of  different  sizes,  resembling  high 
palaces,  or  blocks  of  palaces,  separated  by  circuitous 
broad  avenues,  the  dwellings  of  these  famous  prairie- 
dogs  !  You  could  see  some  of  these  dogs  seated  on  the 
mounds,  their  broad  tails  erect  like  those  of  squirrels, 
the  forefeet  up,  but  gently  bending  at  the  toes,  basking 
in  the  sun  near  their  burrows ;  and  others  walking  leis- 
ure]}' among  the  warrens.  When  frightened,  each  gave 
a  sudden  and  quick  glance  at  the  cars,  and  ran  for  its 
life.  Those  near  the  warren  merely  stepped  into  their 
holes,  but  those  residing  at  a  distance  sprang  with  long 
leaps  toward  their  burrows. 

The  celebrated  prairie-dogs  of  America  are  a  superior 
kind  of  marmots,  called  dog  because  they  bark  like  a  dog. 
They  live  in  large  communities,  which  are  termed  "  vil- 
lages "  by  the  hunters.  They  can  be  tamed,  and  when 
fat  they  arc  good  for  food.  When  these  animals  are 
eating  they  post  a  sentinel,  who,  if  he  perceives  any 
danger,  gives  a  shrill  whistle,  when  all  retire  into  their 
burrows.  They  become  torpid  during  the  winter,  and 
to  protect  themselves  against  the  rigor  of  the  season 
they  close  the  mouth  of  the  hole,  and  at  the  bottom  of 
it   they  construct  a  cell  of  fine,   dry  grass,   very  com- 


62  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMTSPirERES. 

pactly  pressed  together  in  order  to  render  it  comfort- 
able. The  entrance  to  each  burrow  is  at  the  summit  of 
the  mound  of  earth  thrown  up  during  the  progress  of 
excavation.  The  hole  descends  perpendicularly  for  one 
or  two  feet,  then  it  continues  in  an  oblique  direction. 
The  size  of  a  prairie-dog  is  that  of  a  large  rabbit,  and 
the  color  is  grayish,  approaching  to  brown  toward  the 
head. 

At  Cheyenne,'^''  6,041  feet  above  the  lc\'cl  of  the  sea, 
we  were  under  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Here  a  connec- 
tion is  made  with  the  line  to  Denver,  Golden  City, 
Santa  Fe,  etc.  The  population  is  not  over  3,000.  The 
road  ascends  rapidly  to  the  summit  of  the  Rockys. 
We  were  now  in  Wyoming,  and,  properly  speaking,  in 
the  Black  Hills,  and  could  perceive  some  ragged  and 
half-starved  Indians  ;  but  we  could  observe  no  lodges 
of  hostiles  fighting  the  United  States  troops,  notwith- 
standing that  it  was  reported  in  the  newspapers  that  the 
Black  Hills  are  fields  of  braves.  The  air  is  so  dry  and 
rarified  as  to  render  respiration  rather  difficult.  The 
great  transparency  of  the  atmosphere  is  such  that  the 
peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  ravines,  and  valleys  can 
be  seen  for  a  long  distance.  The  two  peaks — Long 
Peak  and  Pike's  Peak — the  former  70  and  the  latter  160 
miles  distant,  a])pear  close  at  hand.  Now  the  road 
passes  through  the  Granite  Can}'on,  7,298  feet  high, 
so  called  from  the  Spanish  word  Cauoii,  for  a  pass  in 
the  mountains.  We  observed  no  snow,  except  a  few 
spots  on  the  defiles  of  some  mountains.  We  struck 
Sherman,  the  highest  ele\'ation,  8,242.  Here  the  sce- 
nery is  savage,  grand,  and  wild,  especially  in  crossing  the 
Dale  Creek  bridge  of  frame-work  timber,  standing  126 
feet  high  over  a  ravine. 

*  Cheyenne  means  "rock." 


LARAMIE.  5^ 

All  along  this  road  we  observed  towns  built  of  wooden 
planks,  but  deserted.     They  sprang  up  during  the  con- 
struction of  the  railroad,  grew  to  a  considerable  size, 
and  disappeared  when  the   road  was   finished.     These 
mournful  agglomerations  of  abandoned  homes  are  now 
the  resorts  of  wild  beasts.     We  reached  Laramie.     This 
is  the  great  dividing  range  on  the  west  side  of  America, 
traversing  it  from  north  to  south,  down  through  Mexico, 
and  in  line  with   the  Andes   in    South  America.     This 
plateau,  4,000  to    5,000  feet   above  the   sea   and    t,oco 
miles  wide,    is    crossed    b)'   the    railroad    between    the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada   toward  San 
i^^ancisco.     The  first  section  across  the  Laramie  Plains, 
60  miles  long,  yields  some  pasture,  but  the  water  is  vcr}- 
scarce  ;  the  rest   is   nothing  but  a  rugged,  barren   soil. 
The   night   was  very  cold,    rendering    a   fire    desirable. 
After  crossing  North  Platte  River,  and  a  continuation 
of  a  mountainous  territory,  and  sage-brush  and  rolling 
desert,  we  arrived  at  Bitter  Creek,  an  inconsiderable  sta- 
tion— a  decided  misnomer,  since  there  is  not  the  vestige  of 
a  creek.     P>om  Laramie  to  Ogden,  a  space  of  460  miles, 
there  is  no  place  or  town  of  any  note,  although  many 
localities  bear  the  names  of  cities.  Tlie  country  is  nothing 
but    a   barren,    rugged   desert,  ver\"  justK'  denominated 
tlie   continental    backbone   desert,  and   it    continues  so 
even   after  crossing  Green   River,  or   rather  to  As])en, 
the   second   highest   mountain    on   the   line,    7,540   feet 
high.     At  Aspen,   L'tah   Territory,  the   line   passes  the 
highest  defile  of  the  W'ahsatch  Mountains  among  rug- 
ged hills.    The  view  is  savage,  yet  grand.    Tlie  road  goes 
through  a  tunnel  of  770  feet,  the  longest  on   tlie  line. 
Here  are  long  snow-sheds  and  fences  to  protect  tht:  line 
from  snow-drifts.  The  I<~cho  Canon  contains  the  remark- 
able Castle  and  I  langing  Rocks,  2,000  to  2,500  feet  above 
the  valley,  and  the  Pulpit  Rock,  so  called  from  its  pulpit 


64  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

form.  At  Echo  City  we  took  our  meals,  consisting  of 
the  usual  antelope  meat,  one  or  two  sweet  dishes,  and 
coffee.  Althouc^h  thirty  minutes  are  allowed  for  each 
meal,  after  ten,  every  man  has  finished,  and  has  rushed 
off  to  the  bar-room,  where  he  has  hardly  settled  down 
when  the  conductor  cries  loudl\-,  "All  aboard,  f^entle- 
men ! " 

The  descent  to  the  Salt  Lake  is  done  \\-ithout  steam  ; 
the  weight  of  the  carriages  is  sufficient  to  move  the 
train,  and  although  the  brake  is  put  on  the  wheels,  we 
go  down  at  a  frightful  pace,  which  rentiers  the  descent 
alarming  on  account  of  the  curves,  which  are  sliarp  and 
numerous,  and  overhanging  fearful  precipices.  \W^  en- 
joy here  the  romantic  view  of  the  pass  called  Weber 
Canon.  We  saw  the  solitary  pine  called  the  Thousand 
Mile  Tree,  so  called  because  it  stands  1,000  miles  from 
Omaha;  the  Finger  Rock,  and  the  TeviVs  Slide,  a  gut- 
ter, TOO  feet  wide,  sloping  down  a  hill,  between  two  ser- 
rated granite  ridges,  50  to  200  feet  high.  It  is  also 
designated  the  Devil's  Gate.  About  5  P.M.  we  arrived 
at  Ogden  on  the  territory  of  the  Mormons,  that  is,  of 
the  Saints,  as  they  call  themscKes.  flere  there  is  a 
branch  road,  built  by  ]^righam  Young,  to  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  as  it  was  k'rida\%  I  wanted  to  spend  Sunda}' 
in  this  cit}-,  so  I  took  the  train  thither.  I  inquired  of 
the  conductor  of  this  bmnch  road  which  was  the  best 
hotel  in  the  City  of  the  Saints.  The  conductor,  who 
was  a  Mormon,  told  me  that  there  were  two  good 
hotels,  one  kept  b}'  a  iNIormon  and  one  b}'  a  Gentile, 
and  ht  advised  me  to  take  lodging  at  the  \'alle\-  Mouse, 
kept  by  the  Gentile.  The  train  took  two  hours  to  make 
thirty-seven  miles,  which  is  the  distance  that  separates 
Ogden  from  Salt  Lake  City,  the  ■\Iormon  capital.  The 
railway  follows  the  line  of  the  Salt  Lake,  and  stops  at 
many  insignificant  hamlets    and  isolated  farms.     The 


THE  MORMOXS. 


65 


train  arrived  at  the  station  about  8.30  P.M.  I  found 
the  Valley  House  to  be  both  good  and  comfortable. 

After  a  refreshing  rest,  in  the  morning  I  took  a  walk 
around  the  Tabernacle  and  Brigham  Young's  Harem, 
which  was  surrounded  by  a  strong,  high  stone  wall. 
The  day  was  very  warm,  and  the  sun  very  strong,  and 
as  there  was  not  much  shade  outside  of  the  Tabernacle, 
where  they  are  building,  or  rather  they  try  to  build,  the 
new  Tabernacle  of  cut  stone,  I  turned  my  attention  to 
find  the  Catholic  church,  and  after  nearly  one  hour's 
strolling  through  the  city,  which  is  regularly  built,  but 
monotonous,  in  single  or  one  story  and  a  half  houses, 
now  walking  under  the  shade  of  acacia-trees,  which 
line  the  side-walks,  now  under  the  shade  of  in\'  umbrel- 
la, I  perceived  a  cross  rising  from  a  modest,  but  neat, 
building.  On  inquiry,  I  learned  it  to  be  the  Catholic 
church,  and  I  soon  found  the  way  to  the  house  of  the 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Lawrence  Scanlon,  who  had  just  re- 
turned from  a  long  excursion  through  the  Utah  Terri- 
tory. This  zealous  and  indefatigable  missionary,  with 
only  one  assistant.  Rev.  Denis  D.  Keily,  has  to  attend 
the  entire  Utah  Territory,  which,  because  rejected  by 
some  other  dioceses,  is  abnormally,  but  only  temporarily, 
under  the  administration  of  the  Archbishop  of  San 
Francisco,  900  miles  distant. 

Father  Scanlon  very  kindly  offered  to  me  the  hospi- 
tality of  his  modest  house,  which  I  could  not  accept, 
because  I  had  made  a  contract  with  the  proprietor  of 
the  Valley  House,  but  I  was  obliged  to  dine  with  him. 
He  is  young,  but  his  color,  countenance,  and  a  kind  of 
prostration  bespeak  the  overworked  servant  in  the  vine- 
yard. He  invited  me  to  preach  at  the  High  Mass  next 
Sunday;  he  was  too  fatigued,  and  needed  rest.  "  I  will 
not  only  preach,"  I  replied,  "but  I  will  do  anything 
else  to  help  you."     "  I  w^ould  like  you  to  say  Mass  for 


^  A    rOUR  TX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  Sisters,"  said  he.  While  I  was  drinking  a  glass  of 
that  sparkling  and  foaming  California  wine,  the  door 
opened,  and  Mr.  D.  C.  McGlynn,  brother  of  Rev.  ]\Ir. 
McGlynn,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  entered,  with  his  usual 
cheerful  countenance,  holding  some  fine  and  large 
bunches  of  California  grapes  which  had  just  arrived 
by  rail.  After  the  most  cordial  salutations,  we  sat 
down  and  did  the  full  justice  to  those  grapes,  which  their 
merits  demanded,  and  I  remembered  Italy,  where  in 
days  of  yore  I  had  enjoyed  so  great  an  abundance  of 
that  description  of  fruit.  After  having  refreshed  our- 
selves with  a  delicious  luncheon,  Mr.  McGlynn  got  up. 
"Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "I  am  going  to  the  sulphur 
springs,  and  to  take  a  bath.  Father  Vetromile,  it  will  do 
ycHi  good  after  a  long  travel ;  and  you,  Father  Scanlon, 
after  returning  from  your  weary  excursion,  will  feel  re- 
freshed and  all  the  better  for  it."  We  judged  the  prop- 
osition to  be  a  good  one,  and  prepared  to  avail  our- 
selves of  it.  They  related  to  me  how  the  proprietor  of 
the  establishment  was  a  physician  (who  was  not  a  Mor- 
mon), and  how  about  two  years  ago  he  had  a  very  late 
professional  night  call.  That  was  the  last  seen  of  him  I 
People  suspect,  with  good  reason,  that  he  was  assas- 
sinated by  the  Mormons,  perhaps  because  he  might  have 
delivered  opinions  against  Mormonism,  or  that  he  was 
considered  to  be  of  no  advantage  to  the  impostures  of 
l^righam  Young.  In  a  short  time,  b\'  horse-cars,  we  ar- 
ri\'cd  at  the  suljjhur  springs;  ^\•here,  besides  the  large 
tank,  where  many  can  bathe  and  swim  together,  there  are 
several  small,  private  bathing  rooms,  but  we  preferred  the 
large  hall,  where  we  could  swiin  in  each  other's  company. 
The  hall  was  kept  for  us  only  ;  each  had  a  dressing- 
room.  The  sulphur-water  at  first  was  too  w.u'm,  but 
soon  I  found  it  very  comfortable;  near  the  steps  it  was 
only  breast-deep,  but  out  further  it  was  many  feet  in 


THE  MORMOXS. 


^7 


depth,  and  where  only  swimmers  could  venture.  The 
spring  was  but  a  short  distance  outside  of  the  hall.  The 
water  was  conveyed  to  this  tank  by  a  pipe,  which  was 
always  left  open  to  allow  it  to  run  in  continually,  while 
another  opening  at  the  other  extremity  was  letting  out 
the  same  quantity  of  water.  A  douche  of  fresh  cold 
water  was  situated  in  a  corner,  and  every  one  could  use 
it  after  bathing,  in  order  to  remove  any  sulphuric  re- 
mains from  his  body.  When  we  all  met  again  outside, 
we  returned  by  horse-car  to  Salt  Lake  City,  where  we 
took  dinner,  after  which  we  walked  about  to  see  the  city. 

Salt  Lake  City,  the  Mormon  capital  of  Utah  Terri- 
tory, was  founded  in  1 847,  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
Mormons  from  Illinois.  Brigham  Young  knew  the 
valuable  minerals  inclosed  in  the  I^lack  Hills  and  other 
localities  in  Utah,  their  resources,  and  how  far  the  land 
could  be  improved.  All  this  he  had  learned  from 
official  observations,  made  by  scientists  employed  to  sur- 
vey this  wilderness.  He  selected  Utah  (then  belong- 
ing to  Mexico)  as  the  future  residence  of  his  followers, 
and  in  1847  ^'^id  the  foundation  of  this  city  between 
the  great  Salt  Lake  and  Utah  Lake  (fresh).  The  pop- 
ulation is  about  26,000. 

In    the    evening    I    made    the   acquaintance    of    Mr. 

,    the    lawyer    employed    by    Ann    Alice,    one    of 

Mr.  Brigham  Young's  wives,  who  has  sued  him  for 
a  divorce;  and  although  the  United  States  Court  has 
not  yet  delivered  a  sentence,  has  condemned  him  to  yixy 
several  thousand  dollars  a  }'ear  to  Ann  /Mice  for 
alimony,   which   has    never  yet    been    paid.      "All    his 

movable  property,"   said   Mr. ,   "is  attached,  and 

next  Monday,  all,  including  his  horses  and  his  car- 
riages, will  be  sold  at  auction  in  favor  of  Ann  Alice." 
"  WHiy  do  yf)u  not  sell  some  of  his  farms  or  houses?"  I 
asked.     "No,"  said  he,  "we  can  place  no  trust  on  the 


68  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

deeds,  because  after  selling  a  portion  of  land  or  any 
immovable  property,  some  Mormon  will  come  forth 
with  seme  deed  claiming  property,  and  the  purchaser 
loses  it.  So  you  sec  that  it  is  difficult  to  sell  Mormon 
immovable  property  until  the  present  state  of  things 
comes  to  be  changed."  "  But  wh}'  did  she  marry  him  ?" 
I  remarked.  ''  She  knew  him,  and  the  state  of  affairs 
amongst  the  Mormons  !  "  ''  She  could  not  refuse  !  " 
was  the  answer.     ''  It  would  have  cost  her  her  life." 

Mormonism  is  now  played  out.  The  opening  of  the 
railroad,  and  Camp  Douglas,  with  six  companies  of 
artillery  and  one  hundred  guns  gaping  on  Salt  Lake 
City,  have  brought  the  Mormons  to  their  little 
senses.  It  is  true  they  are  not  capable  of  much.  They 
are  ignorant  and  without  education.  As  for  religious 
instruction,  they  have  none.  To  this,  adding  the  long 
slavery  in  which  they  have  been  living — all  being  slaves 
of  Brigham  Young,  who  is  the  master  of  their  souls 'and 
bodies — you  may  judge  of  the  low  condition  of  their 
minds. 

Several  instances  of  secret  assassinations  and  execu- 
tions were  related  to  me.  Numerous  bands  of  emigrants 
on  their  way  to  the  mines  were  treacherously  massacred 
by  Mormons  disguised  as  Indians.  It  is  not  long  ago 
that  a  number  of  emigrants  passed  through  Salt  Lake 
Cit}^  on  their  way  to  the  Black  Hills.  The  Mormons 
persuaded  them  to  accept  a  force  of  armed  men,  in 
order  to  protect  them  from  the  Indians.  When  about 
fifteen  m.iles  on  the  road,  the  Mormons  ordered  the 
emigrants  to  la\'  down  their  arms,  otherwise  the  Indians 
suspecting  them  would  murder  them.  The  emigrants 
laid  down  tlieir  arms,  and  the  Mormons  massacred  every 
one  of  them,  except  a  bo\%  who  ficd  and  rc\'ealc(l  the 
whole  affair.  It  was  proved  that  this  massacre  was  ex- 
ecuted by  direction  of  Brigham  Voung  and  by  order  of 


THE  MORMONS.  69 

the  bishops.  This  boy  is  kept  to  appear  as  testimony 
on  the  trial  that  is  to  take  phice. 

The  Nciv  York  Weekly  Herald,  March  31,  1877,  ^'^y^ 
that  the  Mormons  have  for  thirty  or  forty  years  defied 
law,  practiced  adultery,  bigamy,  murder,  tyranny,  and 
blasphem}'  under  the  mask  of  relii^ion.  It  is  necessary 
to  root  them  out. 

The  same  paper,  June  g,  1877,  says  :  "Two  attempts 
within  the  last  fortnif^ht  to  assassinate  our  correspond- 
ent at  Salt  Lake  City  were  made On  .Saturda\-, 

the  26th  ult.,  as  Mr.  Stillson  was  returning"  to  the  Lion 
House  from  a  drive,  he  was  shot  at  by  a  stealthy  mis- 
creant, who  had  concealed  himself  behind  a  tree  at  a 
distance  c;f  fifty  feet  from  the  point  where  the  buggy 
was  passing.  The  intending  assassin  missed  his  aim 
and  Hed.  On  Thursday  last,  the  same  individual,  or 
another,  gained  access  to  Mr.  Stillson's  room  at  the 
hotel,  and  under  a  pretense  of  delivering  a  pai)er,  stab- 
bed at  him  with  a  knife,  failing  of  his  purpose  by  the 
interposition  of  a  portemonnaie,  two  photographs,  and 
a  suspender-buckle  between  the  knife  and  the  breast  of 

the  correspondent His  letters  and  telegrams  from 

Utah  have  been  extremely  offensive  to  the  Mormon 
chiefs,  and  a  Sunday  or  two  since  were  made  the  topic 
of  an  indecent,  vulgar,  and  infuriated  harangue  in  the 
Mormon  Temple.  The  attempt  on  his  life,  of  course, 
is  a  consequence  of  his  exposures  and  the  indignant 
commotion  they  have  stirred  up  among  the  '  Saints.' 
.  .  .  .  Ha\ing  tried  to  win  his  fax'orable  opinion  b\- 
courtesies  and  blandishments  on  his  first  arri\al,  and 
failed,  they  now  resort  to  terror." 

The  United  States  Court  had  ti'ied  several  bishops 
and  15righam  Young  himself  for  murder;  but  \\itnesses 
were  afraid  to  testif)',  and  llie  judges  feared  to  ])ass 
sentence.      Then,  who    wDuld   execute    the    sentence? 


70  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Washington  was  notified  that  the  judges  did  not 
dare  to  put  the  trials  through.  The  httle  force  at 
Camp  Douglas  was  insufficient  to  execute  the  law  and 
to  protect  the  officers  from  assassination.  The  United 
States  Government  sent  an  army,  and  while  this  was  on 
the  way,  Brigham  Young  armed  the  militia  and  had  it 
ready  to  attack  the  United  States  troops.  Brigham 
Young  sent  messengers  to  the  General  of  the  American 
Army,  commanding  him  not  to  cross  the  Jordan 
(a  small  river  near  Salt  Lake),  and  that  in  the  event  of 
crossing  he  would  be  attacked  by  the  militia.  The 
General  bravely  replied  that  he  would  cross  the  Jordan. 
So  he  did  ;  and  planted  a  battery  at  Camp  Douglas. 
In  this  manner  the  United  States  Court  continued  the 
work.  Some  bishops  were  tried  and  condemned.  Brig- 
ham Young  was  summoned  to  appear  and  answer  to 
sex'eral  charges  of  murder.  He  fled  to  distant  parts  of 
Utah,  excusing  himself  by  pleading  sickness.  This  and 
other  trials  were  postponed,  and  thus  the  affairs  remain 
for  the  present. 

The  Mormons  are  not  now  strong  believers  in  Mor- 
monism.  Few  go  to  the  Tabernacle  ;  many  do  not  pay 
the  tithes  to  the  Church,  nor  can  they  be  enforced,  while 
the  Gentiles  "  can  do  what  they  please  and  go  and  stay 
where  they  please,  only  they  must  be  on  their  guard 
against  assassination. 

The  Mormon  doctrine  is  blasphemous:  "God  is  a 
person  of  flesh  and  blood  like  man  ;  lie  is  perfect  in 
everything,  and  has  the  passions  of  a  man.  Jesus  Clirist 
was  created  by  Him  in  an  ordinary  wa\'.  The  h'alher 
and  the  Son  are  alike,  but  the  Father  looks  older.  Man 
was  not  created  by  (jod.but  existed  from  eternit}'.  He 
is  not  born  in  sin,  but  is  responsible  for  his  own  actions. 

*  The  Mormons  call  all  jjcoplc  (leiitilc-  \\Iin  do  not  ])riifc-ss  Mor- 
monism. 


THE  MORMONS. 


71 


He  sanctifies  himself  by  marriage.  There  are  angels 
and  other  spirits.  God  is  in  direct  communication  with 
the  Prophet  and  the  Bishops,  but  not  so  much  with  the 
latter.  Gentiles  are  not  necessarily  damned."  These 
are  the  blasphemies  of  that  old  reprobate  impostor,  Joe 
Smith  ;  yet  he  never  sanctioned  polygamy.  It  was  the 
second  impostor,  Brigham  Young,  who  pretended  to 
have  received  a  revelation  from  God  to  have  a  plurality 
of  wives;  and  in  order  to  stifle  any  opposition,  he  pro- 
duced a  feigned  revelation,  which  Joe  Smith  had  re- 
ceived one  year  before  his  death.  The  widow  and  chil- 
dren of  Joe  Smith  declare  that  this  prophecy  is  apocry- 
phal. Thus  polygamy  was  established.  Brigham  Young 
at  the  present  time  has  sixteen  wives  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  throughout  Utah  Territory,  ninety.  It  is  true  that 
many  are  called  by  him  scaled  wives,  but  what  he  means 
hy  scaled  \\\{c,\\Q.  does  not  explain  clear!}-,  nor  do  I  care 
to  understand  it.  The  higher  one  is.  in  holiness  the 
more  wives  he  gets.  None  have  less  than  three.  No 
one  is  allowed  to  have  more  wives  than  he  can  maintain  ; 
5'et  in  reality  the  wives  very*  often  maintain  their  hus- 
bands by  their  work. 

You  must  not  think  that  the  proselytes  made  by  the 
so-called  Mormon  missionaries  are  people  of  education, 
wealth,  learning,  and  sanctity.  No  such  thing.  They 
are  simply  men  who  find  themselves  in  a  state  of  utter 
destitution,  and  want  to  get  out  of  it.  The}'  are  from 
the  ignorant  population  of  Wales,  from  the  worst  (juar- 
ters  of  London,  from  the  dockyards  of  Liverpool,  and 
very  few  from  an)-  other  cpiarter  of  the  world.  The 
I'^uropean  emigrant  has  no  means  c^f  defense.  Desti- 
tute, ignorant,  and  debased,  b\'  declaring  himself  a  Mor- 
mon he  becomes  a  believer;  that  is,  a  believer  in  Brig- 
ham Young.  He  seeks  fr)r  no  arguments  against  errors 
of  what  he  professed,  nor  f<jr  wliat  he  will  become.     He 


^2 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


shuts  his  eyes  and  gives  himself  up  soul  and  body  to 
Brigham  Young.  The  Welsh  women,  who  form  the 
great  majority  of  the  immigrants  of  their  sex,  are  pe- 
culiarly ignorant  and  superstitious  ;  they  push  their  hus- 
bands to  Mormonism,  and  keep  them  up  to  it.  The  men 
are  attracted  by  the  promise  of  the  goods  of  this  world, 
by  the  possibility  of  becoming  rich,  by  the  enjoyment 


The  Mormon  Tabernacle. 


of  the  young  girls  of  the  desert,  and  the  continuation 
in  another  world  with  a  God  who  is  like  themselves. 
Brigham  Young  gives  theiTL  a  farm,  tools,  and  other 
means,  but  they  have  to  pay  for  all  else,  besides  the  in- 
terest. There  is  hardly  a  Mormon  who  has  succeeded 
in  clearing  what  he  owes  to  Brigham  Young,  and  all 
struggle  through  their  whole  lives  under  the  worst  kind 
of  slavery. 


THE  MORMONS.  73 

On  Sunda}-  I  went  to  the  Sisters,  where  I  said  Mass 
and  gave  them  the  Communion.  I  took  breakfast  there, 
and  afterward  I  went  to  the  church,  and  at  High  Mass, 
celebrated  by  Father  Scanlon,  I  deHvered  a  sermon  from 
the  pulpit.  After  Mass  several  ladies  and  officers  from 
Camj)  Douglas,  who  were  at  church,  were  introduced  to 
me.  They  invited  me  and  party  to  visit  the  camp,  and 
we  promised  to  do  so  during  the  afternoon.  We  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  dine  at  Mr.  Doyle's,  a  very  re- 
spectable gentleman  of  the  city.  Mr.  McCjlynn  took 
me  to  see  the  Tabernacle.  It  is  a  long,  low  hall,  entirely 
bare  and  destitute  of  religious  emblems,  covered  by  a 
heavy  oval  «upola.  7\t  one  end  there  is  a  raised  dais, 
on  which  are  placed  arm-chairs  for  the  so-called  Prophet 
and  for  the  l^ishops.  I  got  tired  of  it,  and  I  requested 
Mr.  McGlynn  to  leave.  As  for  Brigham  Young,  I  had 
no  desire  to  see  him,  nor  did  L 

We  went  to  the  Sisters  and  gave  the  benediction  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  their  chapel.  Afterward  we 
went  to  Mr.  Doyle's,  where  we  were  kindly  entertained 
b\-  his  lady  and  children.  After  dinner  we  found  that 
the  carriage  was  ^\■aiting  at  the  door  for  us  ;  when  the 
entire  party,  Mr.  Doyle  included,  rode  to  Camp  Doug- 
las, where  we  arrived  at  sunset,  while  the  band  was  per- 
forming. The  ladies  were  much  alarmed  about  their 
husbands,  who  were  at  the  Black  Hills  fighting  the 
Indians.  Of  six  companies  stationed  at  this  camp,  only 
one  was  left  to  take  care  of  the  Monnons  ;  the  five  oth- 
ers had  gone  to  the  Black  Hills;  but  the  families  of  the 
absent  officers  were  here.  We  remained  a  couple  of 
hours  to  visit  the  several  officers  and  families  at  the 
camp  ;  and  having  ins])ected  the  new  (juarters,  we  bade 
adieu,  riding  back  to  Mr.  Doyle's  house,  where  we  par- 
took of  a  well-prepared  supper.  Father  Scanlon  in- 
sisted that  1  should  stop  with  him  for  the  night.  Mr. 
4 


74  -'i    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

McGlynn  took  the  carriage  and  we  drove  to  the  hotel ; 
there  I  seized  my  impediments  and  then  rode  to  Father 
Scanlon's  residence,  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  finding 
Rev.  Denis  Keily,  who  was  returning  froni  his  mission, 
and  who  is  an  assistant  to  heather  Scanlon. 

I  listened  with  pleasure  to  Father  Scanlon's  rela- 
tion of  the  circumstances  of  the  visit  of  his  Imperial 
Majesty  Dom  Pedro  II.,  Emperor  of  Brazil,  circum- 
stances not  mentioned  by  newspapers,  but  whicl? 
should  not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  His  Imperial 
Majesty  refused  to  put  up  at  the  Alormon  Hotel 
kept  by  Air.  Townsend,  but  stopped  at  the  Valley 
House.  It  was  vSaturday  evening,  in  the  month  of 
April,  that  the  I'lmperor  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  City. 
Sunday  morning  Brigham  Young  sent  his  state  cai- 
riage  to  the  Valley  House  for  the  Emperor,  and  two 
other  carriages  for  his  suite.  "  Mr.  Brigham  Young 
welcomes  your  Majesty  to  the  City  of  the  Saints  ;  he 
sends  you  his  carriage  and  expects  to  see  you  at  the 
Tabernacle."  The  lunperor,  with  his  truly  repablican 
freedom,  answered,  ''  I  thank  Mr.  Brigham  Young  for 
his  kindness.  I  return  the  carriages  ;  I  can  carry  my 
own  valise  myself."  He  sent  back  the  carriages,  and 
at  church  time  the  Emperor  \\'ith  his  suite  in  three  car- 
riages, drove  to  the  Catholic  church,  and  kneeling  at 
the  railings,  blessed  himself,  and  commenced  pra\-ers. 
His  M.ajesty  then  sat  down  on  the  front  bench,  which 
had  no  kneel ing-bench.  h\'ither  .Scanlon,  who  had  not  re- 
ceived an\-  intimation  of  the  Imperial  visit,  had  prepared 
nothing  suitable  for  the  Emperor,  but  he  immediately 
sent  a  comfortable  arm-chair,  and  ap])roaching,  re(|uested 
the  Emperor  to  be  seated,  but  his  Majesty  replied,  'S\ 
bench  is  just  as  good  for  me  as  for  any  other  pi'rson  to 
sit  upon  at  church,"  and  rema.ining  on  the  bench,  he 
pulled  from  his  pocket  a  set  of  beads,  and  commenced  to 


BRIG II AM   YOUhrC. 


75 


tell  them.  "  It  was  very  edifying,"  observed  Father  Scan- 
Ion,  "  to  see  that  old  gentleman,  remarkable  for  his 
high  dignity  and  learning,  seated  on  a  bench,  or  kneel- 
ing on  a  bare  step,  saying  his  prayers  with  such  great 
devotion  and  piety." 

After  church,  the  Emperor  paid  his  compliments  to 
Father  Scanlon,  who  apologized  for  not  having  pre- 
pared a  suitable  place  for  him,  because  he  had  received 
no  intimation.  Dom  Pedro  rode  to  the  Valley  House, 
and  soon  after  went  to  Ogden,  leaving  the  same  day 
for  San  Francisco,  and  taking  no  notice  of  the  Tabernacle 
nor  of  Brigham  Young,  thus  giving  a  striking  lesson  of 
good  sense,  religion,  and  morality  to  those  who  thought 
it  a  great  thing  and  honor  to  see  a  Yankee  impostor 
of  no  education  and  religion,  who  has  disgraced  his 
country  and  Christianity,  by  the  introduction  of  polyg- 
amy, the  stain  of  which  even  the  Indians  feel  ashamed 
— a  Yankee  of  Vermont,  who  does  not  blush  to  keep 
ninety  women,  whom  he  styles  wives,  or  \\hat  he  calls 
wives  scaled  for  heaven,  or  spiritual  wives — an  impious 
blasphemer,  who  dares  to  call  himself  Prophet !!  ! 

\cxy  early  next  day  Mr.  McGlynn  came  with  the  car- 
riage to  take  us  to  the  station.  I  le  gave  me  a  letter  of 
introductifMi  to  Mr.  ()li\'er  at  San  Francisco,  requesting 
that  gentleman  to  show  me  all  that  was  worthy  of  being 
seen,  lie  had  alreacU"  sent  him  a  letter  in  advance.  \\. 
the  depot  I  took  a  cordial  leave  of  Mr.  Mc('il}-nn,  and  in 
comi)any  with  leather  Scanlon,  at  eight  A.M.  left  f<^r  Og- 
den. J^righam  \'oung  was  in  the  same  train  with  us,  in 
a  separate  car,  but  1  had  no  ilesire  to  see  him.  Nobodx' 
seemed  to  take  notice  of  him.  ;\s  lie  has  \\i\es  ever\-- 
where  he  goes,  he  does  not  trouble  himself  to  take 
any  with  him.  We  no\s  could  see  the  full  extension  of 
Salt  Lake,  and  bevond  it  the  river  J<ir(lan,  a  name 
given  to  it  b}'  the  Mormons. 


CHAPTER    V. 

OGDEN — SIERRA  NEVADA — SUMMIT  STATION — CAPE  HORN  STATION — 
SACRAMENTO — SAN  FRANCISCO— THE  CHINESE — DEPARTURE  FOR  THE 
PACIFIC    OCEAN. 

The  train  for  San  Francisco  did  not  leave  till  six 
P.M.,  so  I  had  ample  time  to  sec  Ogden.  It  is  a  new 
place,  and  as  the  wind  blew  fresh,  it  rendered  my  stay 
very  unpleasant  on  account  of  the  clouds  of  sand  and 
dust,  for  which  Ogden  is  so  remarkable.  This  small 
city  of  about  6,ooo  souls  is  built  near  a  canon,  and  is 
4,301  feet  above  the  sea.  It  stands  at  the  junction  of 
the  Union  Pacific  with  the  last  link  of  the  overland 
chain — the  Central  Pacific — which  strikes  off  for  San 
Trancisco.  Plere  are  situated  the  depots  of  the  two 
companies. 

Just  at  six  P.M.  the  Central  Pacific  train  started  for 
California.  The  line  here  winds  round  the  dark  waters 
of  Salt  Lake,  and  now  and  then  we  could  perceive  the 
full  extent  of  it.  While  conversing  with  an  English 
gentleman,  who  was  going  to  Australia,  I  felt  a  rap  on 
my  shoulder.  "  Ticket ! "  a  hoarse,  loud  voice  hal- 
loed. Do  not  wonder  at  the  stout,  and  sometimes 
rough-looking  conductors,  with  tanned,  weather-beaten 
faces  and  brawny  color,  that  are  generally  emplox'ud 
on  this  line  ;  they  have  to  deal  and  contend  with  many 
hard  cases  in  this  part  of  the  country.  I  was  lucky  in 
meeting  with  very  good  company.  Another  F.nglish 
gentleman  who  was  seated  by  me,  remarked :  "  Sir, 
yesterday  one  of  these  men  in  the  cars  asked  me  to 
(76) 


THE  LOST  CHECK. 


77 


play  at  cards.  '  No,  sir,'  I  told  him,  '  it  is  Sunday.' 
*  But,'  replied  the  other,  '  there  is  no  church,  and  we 
must  kill  our  time.'  '  If  we  can  not  go  to  church,  we 
must,  however,  respect  the  Lord's  Day.  No,  sir;  I 
never  play  at  cards  on  Sunday.'  He  left  me  alone." 
Continuing  our  conversation  about  the  obligation  of 
keeping  Sunday  holy,  I  felt  a  hand  on  my  hat.  Lifting 
my  head,  I  beheld  the  same  conductor  thrusting  some- 
thing into  my  hat.  It  was  his  portion  of  the  R.R.  line 
ticket  that  he  was  inserting  in  the  ribbon  of  my  hat.  At 
the  next  station  we  all  alighted  to  take  a  meal,  the  usual 
antelope,  sweetmeats,  and  coffee.  Returning  to  the 
cars,  and  while  ascending  the  platform,  two  ladies  from 
above  very  kindly  gave  me  their  hands  to  help  me  to 

the  platform.     Lifting  my  head,  I  beheld  Mrs. ■  and 

Miss ,  two  of  my  friends,  whom  I  had  not  had  the 

pleasure  of  seeing  for  several  years.  After  a  cordial 
shaking  of  hands,  I  said :  "  How  could  I  have  ever 
dreamed  to  meet  two  of  my  best  friends  in  this  desert 
of  America?"  "We  live  now  in  San  Francisco,"  they 
said,  *'  and  we  have  been  to  New  York ;  now  we  return 
to  San  Francisco." 

We  sat  together  in  the  cars,  and  they  made  me  par- 
take of  some  fine  pears,  which  I  found  very  refreshing. 
We  conversed  for  a  long  time  upon  several  subjects, 
but  principally  about  San  TVancisco  and  the  Chinese 
people.  After  a  little  while  the  conductor  came  to 
see  the  tickets.  I  looked  for  my  check ;  lo !  it  was 
gone.  "Where  is  the  check?"  the  conductor  asked  in 
a  bold  and  rather  angry  tone.  "  I  can't  find  it,"  I  re- 
plied ;  "  it  must  have  dropped  from  my  hat."  ''  Find 
it,"  he  replied  in  the  same  tone  of  voice,  "  I  want  my 
check."  "If  I  fnid  it,  I  will  give  it."  He  passed  to 
the  next  car.  I  made  a  diligent  search,  but  no  check 
could  be  found. 


78  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

I  remarked  to  the  English  gentleman  that  I  held  my 
ticket  tJirougJi  to  San  Francisco  ;  as  for  his  ''  check,  I 
never  asked,  nor  did  he  ever  give  it  to  me,  but  he  put 
it  on  my  hat ;  perhaps  he  did  not  stick  it  well  enough." 
The  gentleman  observed  to  me,  that  the  conductor 
could  not  force  me  to  pay  again  for  that  section  of  the 
line  of  which  he  was  the  conductor,  and  for  which 
alone,  and  only  for  that  day  the  check  was  good,  as  they 
change  checks  every  day  and  in  every  section,  so  that  a 
finder  could  not  avail  himself  of  the  ticket,  and  no 
harm  could  follow  to  the  company ;  besides,  he  add- 
ed, "  You  can  deny  having  received  it,  he  never  gave 
it  to  you,  you  never  saw  it."  The  conductor  passed 
again,  and  I  told  him  that  I  could  not  find  his  check. 
When  his  section  of  the  line  was  through,  he  came  to 
collect  his  checks,  but  he  passed  me  over  without  saying 
one  word. 

The  line  crosses  Nevada  Territory  from  end  to  end. 
That  part  which  forms  the  boundary  of  Utah  is  the 
great  sandy  American  desert,  marked  b\'  an  isolated 
rock  of  about  3,000  feet  above  the  sand  of  the  desert, 
and  called  by  the  eniigrants  the  ''/V/cV,"  because  it 
points  to  the  Humboldt  River,  where  they  can  find  drink- 
able ^\"ater.  It  is  succeeded  westward  b\'  sc\'cral  fine 
valleys,  with  high  grasses  on  the  south  of  the  road. 
On  the  north  of  the  road  there  is  the  so-called  Thou- 
sand Spring  Valley,  ]\'ilisades,  or  7\l\-/:'c  Mile  Canon,  a 
small  tcnvn  or  station,  in  a  pass  trul\'  wild  and  sa\'age 
between  cliffs  I.OOO  feet  high.  Here  we  met  a  branch 
railway  to  mining  districts  and  to  CalKille.  We  came 
down  into  the  Hvimboldt  River  valle)',  and  felt  the  un- 
oleasant  effect  of  those  green  waters  and  fine  alkaline 
dust.  The  country  is  now  a  barren,  volcanic  ground 
between  high  mountains  and  peaks.  At  Winnemucca, 
we  saw  the  towering  high  peak  of  that  name.     Here  we 


THE  SIERRA  NEVADA.  yg 

got  weary  and  tired.  At  Humboldt  Bridge  we  crossed 
this  large  river,  which  now  enters  the  so-called  sink  of 
the  Humboldt,  and  we  were  in  the  forty-miles  desert.  I 
asked  the  conductor,  "  Are  there  two  days  still  to  San 
Francisco?"  ''Yes,"  he  replied  in  a  rough  loud  voice, 
"two  more  days."  "Two  days  and  two  nights?"  I 
asked  again.  "  Two  days,  and  two  nights,"  he  con- 
tinued in  the  same  tone  of  voice,  "  and  twenty-four 
hours  each  day ! "  and  he  went  away.  This  reply 
caused  a  buifst  of  hearty  laughter  from  all  the  passengers, 
which  was  something  of  a  treat  in  that  monotonous 
desert,  breathing  as  it  did,  suffocating  volcanic  dust. 
The  line  now  follows  a  dreary  plain  about  4,000  feet. 
At  Mirage  the  road  commences  to  ascend,  and  at  about 
twenty-five  miles  westward  at  Wadsworth,  on  the  river 
Truckee,  near  the  Pyramid  Lake.  At  Reno  there  is  a 
branch  rail  by  Washoe  to  Virginia  City,  Gold  Hill,  Car- 
son Falls,  and  Carson  City.  Silver  and  gold  mines  are 
in  this  barren  country.  At  the  station  called  Verdi,  in 
honor  of  my  countryman,  the  great  master  of  music, 
the  railroad  enters  the  State  of  California,  continually 
ascending  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The  picturesqueness  and 
beauty  of  this  spot  is  equaled  only  by  the  Alpine  Passes. 
To  overccjme  the  immense  difficulty  of  this  road  re- 
cjuired  tlie  greatest  skill  of  the  engineers.  After  crossing 
and  re-crossing,  and  nearly  riding  over  the  great  Truckee 
River,  at  the  town  and  station  of  this  name,  we  lost  it, 
as  it  discharges  its  waters  twelve  miles  south  into 
lake  Tahoe,  twent}'-two  miles  long.  This  lake  is  to  be 
tapped  in  order  to  supply  Sacramento  valley  and  San 
Francisco  with  its  pure  waters.  The  picturesque  Doii- 
iicr  Lake  is  only  three  miles  from  here  ;  it  is  a  crater  of 
an  extinct  volcanfj.  It  derives  its  name  from  a  (Ger- 
man family,  who  unfortunately  were  caught  and  })crish- 
cd  in  the  w  inter's  snow.    I'rom  here  to  the  next  station 


8o  A    TOUR  nY  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

(Summit),  a  distance  of  only  fourteen  miles,  the  railway 
climbs  up  7,017  feet  by  short  and  sharp  curves  and 
quick  ascents,  following  the  sinuosities  of  the  mountains 
and  plunging  headlong  into  the  forest,  till  it  reaches  the 
very  crest  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  where  the  station 
stands.  Summit  is  the  highest  point  of  this  line,  7,017 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  view  here  is  eminently  grand. 
We  were  on  the  very  top  of  Strong's  Canon.  The  snow- 
capped peaks  of  the  Sierra  display  the  most  romantic 
panorama  of  the  wildest  and  most  beautiful  views. 
Castle  Peak  on  the  right,  and  Crested  Peak  on  the  left, 
rise  like  enormous  giants  over  all  other  high  granite 
peaks,  whose  crenellated  tops  resemble  a  fortified  wall, 
with  slopes  covered  by  magnificent  pine-trees. 

Here  the  line  passes  through  several  tunnels,  one 
1,659  feet  long,  the  train  gliding  swiftly  through  galleries 
of  timber  erected  to  protect  the  track  from  snow,  and 
bringing  the  traveler  into  a  new  climate.  He  breathes 
here  a  wonderfully  fresh,  beautiful,  and  invigorating  air 
— the  California  atmosphere !  The  line  begins  to  de- 
scend, and,  after  a  distance  of  six  miles,  opens  to  a 
fine  view  of  the  Caseade,  so  called  from  a  fall  on  the 
Truckee.  Descending  still  further,  we  pass  the  charming 
towns,  gardens,  and  mining  populations  of  Emigrant  Gap, 
Blue  Cafion,  CJtiiicse  RancJi  (so  called  from  the  Chinese 
workmen),  Alia,  near  the  Great  American  Canon,  the 
finest  pass  on  the  line,  DutcJi  Flat,  and  Gold  Run.  Here 
the  line  suddenly  passes  round  Cape  Horn,  on  a  mere 
ledge  cut  in  the  side  of  a  canon,  and  we  found  oursehes 
suspended  over  a  chasm  2,000  feet  deep,  and  then  de- 
scending very  rapidly  to  a  bridge,  878  feet  long,  o\er  the 
stream.  This  spot  is  enchanting  both  for  its  picturesque 
beauty,  and  its  terrors  in  consequence  of  the  fearful 
speed  of  the  train,  because  it  depends  less  on  tlie  will 
of    the   engineer,   who   directs   the   train,   than   on    the 


SACRAMENTO.  8 1 

weight  of  the  cars.  We  pass  HydrauHc  works,  through 
which,  from  the  top  of  the  mountains,  great  bodies  of 
water  are  brought  to  bear  upon  mineral  strata,  large 
rocks  and  clay  being  detached  from  their  original  beds, 
and  the  deposits  of  gold  and  silver  carried  in  the  so- 
called  flumes,  from  which  the  precious  metal  is  subse- 
quently picked  up. 

We  still  continued  to  descend  very  rapidly  through 
deep  canons,  high  ridges,  and  tall  pine-trees,  and  to  enter 
into  a  garden  of  flowers,  and  trees  loaded  with  fruits, 
vineyards  and  rich  pastures,  and  orchards.  At  the 
several  stations  we  were  refreshed  with  delicious  grapes, 
luscious  pears,  and  a  variety  of  other  fruits,  brought  by 
men,  women,  and  children,  who  surrounded  the  cars  to 
sell  them. 

Amidst  this  garden  of  gardens  we  reached  Sacramento 
on  the  river  of  the  same  name.  It  is  the  State  and 
mining  capital  of  California.  This  city  was  founded  in 
1848,  when  gold  was  first  discovered  on  the  estate  of 
Capt.  Suter,  at  Coloma,  by  J.  Marshall,  on  the  19th 
of  January,  1848.  Sacramento  then  had  only  four 
houses  ;  though  often  burnt  or  inundated,  it  now  counts 
30,000  inhabitants.  It  stands  low,  onl}-  30  to  50  feet 
above  the  sea.  Here  is  a  branch  road  to  Folsoin,  Placer- 
villc  on  the  American  YoxV  River,  in  HI  Dorado,  where 
gold  was  discovered.  Another  branch  of  railua)' passe.T 
up  to  Sacramento.  Steamers  run  on  the  river  to  the 
Bay  of  San  I'>ancisco,  into  which  it  falls. 

At  Gait  station  there  is  a  coach  for  the  Calaveras  Bij^ 
Trees,  70  miles  distant,  a  grove  of  enormous  trees  on 
the  slope  of  the  .Sierra  Nevada.  These  trees  are  from 
250  to  320  feet  high,  and  from  60  to  95  feet  round.  At 
the  Exposition  held  at  I'hiladelphia  in  1S76,  there  was 
on  exhibition  a  section  of  the  Tathcr  of  the  Forest,  the 
largest  of  these  trees,  435  feet  long  and  1 10  feet  round  ; 
4* 


82  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

a  tree  that  had  fallen  to  the  ground  some  years  ago. 
There  are  ten  groves  of  these  gigantic  trees,  besides  the 
famous  Mariposa  big  trees.  But  the  nearest  station  for 
the  Calaveras  big  trees  is  Stockton,  on  the  San  Joaquin 
(pronounced  "  Wau-keen  "),  which  falls  into  the  north 
branch  of  the  San  Francisco  Bay. 

Many  theories  have  been  ad\'anced  to  explain  the  ex- 
istence of  these  colossal  trees.  If  1  were  allowed  to 
venture  an  opinion  I  would  declare  them  to  be  re- 
productions of  stumps  or  seeds  of  trees  belonging  to 
the  period  of  the  middle  and  later  tertiary  epochs,  called 
by  geologists  inioccnc  and  pliocene,  when  vegetable  and 
animal  life  was  of  a  higher  scale  than  at  present.  Now 
and  then  we  discover  gigantic  remains  of  species  at 
present  extinct. 

We  could  now  perceive  the  middle  chain  of  mount- 
ains which  traverses  the  whole  length  of  California. 
At  Midway  we  passed  through  the  tunnel  in  the  Liver- 
more  Caiion,  i,ii6  feet  long,  then  to  Niles,  where  there 
is  the  South-branch  line  to  San  Jose  (pron.  "  Oza  "),  by 
which  you  may  go  also  to  San  h^rancisco.  The  land 
here  is  so  productive  that  carrots  grow  to  three  feet 
long,  and  pears  three  and  a  half  to  a  pound.  Oakland  is 
the  last  station.  It  is  opposite  to  San  J^'rancisco,  across 
the  bay.  We  quitted  the  cars  and  crossed  the  bay  in 
a  big  ferry-boat  of  the  company.  At  San  h'rancisco  I 
rode  to  the  great  Occidental  Hotel. 

Next  day  I  went  to  see  my  banker,  and  afterward  I 
visited  the  office  of  the  Pacific  Steamship  Company. 
During  my  absence  from  the  hotel  I  received  a  call  from 
my  friend.  Col.  Black,  who  was  so  kind  as  to  call  over  and 
over  again,  when  I  wasalwa)'s  unluckily  absent,  but  he  left 
his  card  and  direction.  On  the  following  day  I  said  Mass 
at  the  cathedral,  and  breakfasted  with  his  lordship,  the 
archbishop,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemaii}',  who  gave 


S.LV  FRANCISCO. 


83 


me  a  general  invitation,  but  I  excused  myself  on  the 
ground  that  I  would  prefer  to  spend  the  two  or  three 


weeks  of  my  residence   in   San    l-'rancisco   in   seeiiu;   the 
city  and  other  places  of  the  State. 


84  ^    rOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  present  a  full  narrative  of  San 
Francisco.  The  description  of  this  city  has  been  given 
many  and  many  times  by  accomplished  writers.  Yet  to 
say  nothing  about  it  would  be  an  injustice  ;  I  will  there- 
fore limit  myself  to  some  of  the  principal  things  that 
have  fallen  under  my  observation,  and  thus  hope  not  to 
task  the  patience  of  the  reader. 

The  origin  of  this  now  Qiiccn  City  is  due  to  the 
Spaniards,  who  in  1776  began  a  Presidio  and  mission 
called  Verba  Bncna,  from  a  medicinal  ])lant  of  great 
value  found  on  an  island  in  the  bay.  The  name  was 
changed  in  1849,  after  the  Alexican  war,  when  the 
States  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  California  were 
ceded  to  the  United  States.  As  the  mission  ^\•as  at- 
tended by  the  Fathers  of  St.  hVancis,  the  place  where 
the  mission  was  held  was  afterward  named  San  Fran- 
cisco. It  is  amusing  to  read  in  some  books  printed  in 
Fngland,  that  the  Americans  call  San  Francisco  Frisco, 
for  the  sake  of  brevity.  No  American  dreams,  or  ever 
dreamed,  of  calling  that  cit}-  b\'  the  Fnglish  nickname 
of  Frisco.  On  board  of  the  City  of  Xcw  York,  an 
American  steamer  of  the  Australian  line,  an  Austra- 
lian gentleman  returning  to  Australia  b\'  this  line,  was 
saying  in  a  laughing  manner,  "  I  do  not  know  how  in 
Fngland  people  say  that  in  America  Saii  Fra)icisco  is 
called  I'Visco !  I  ha\'e  ne\'er  heard  such  a  nainc  in 
America,  In  San  Francisco  I  often  took  a  walk  out  of 
the  city,  and  in  returning,  fearing  to  have  mistaken  the 
road,  I  inquired  from  passers-by,  '  Is  this  the  road  to 
IVisco?'  They  \\erc  looking  at  me  with  amazement, 
sa}-ing,  '  There  is  no  such  place  around  here.'  I  replied, 
'  I  mean  San  Francisco.'  '  Oh,  yes,  San  Francisco  ;  but 
you  said  Frisco.'  '  Do  you  not  call  San  Francisco  Frisco  ? ' 
'  No,  sir;  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  it.  Nobody 
calls  it  so.     The  name  of  the  city  is  San  P^rancisco,' " 


SA  iV  FRA  NCI  SCO.  8  5 

The  city  stands  on  a  narrow  neck  betwee/i  the  Pa- 
cific and  the  bay,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Golden  Gate, 
or  inlet  of  the  bay,  the  only  opening  to  one  of  the  most 
splendid  land-locked  harbors  of  the  world,  eight  miles 
wide,  and  sixty  miles  long,  and  accessible  to  the  largest 
ships  of  the  ocean.  Francis  Drake  was  the  first  to  cross 
its  threshold.  The  distance  from  the  city  to  the  ocean 
is  not  more  than  five  or  six  miles,  yet  in  spite  of  its  vicin- 
ity, the  ocean  remains  invisible.  The  population  is  about 
i/OjOCO,  including  several  thousands  of  Chinamen  resid- 
ing in  the  Chinese  quarter.  When  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  it  had  only  four  or  five  buildings  which  could  be 
called  houses,  but  soon,  as  if  by  magic,  it  sprang  into  a 
canvas  town  ;  the  harbor,  which  was  rarely  plowed,  save 
only  by  some  solitary  Mexican  cutter,  was  crowded  with 
shipping,  and  from  that  date  the  city  has  been  constant- 
ly growing  in  wealth  and  importance.  Like  Rome,  the 
most  part  of  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  San  Francisco 
(the  Indians  and  Mexicans  excepted),  as  a  general  rule, 
were  vagabonds ;  the  scum  of  nearly  every  nation  ran 
thither  as  adventurers,  after  the  discovery  of  the  gold. 
They  fought  with  each  other  as  much  as  with  the  wild 
beasts  for  the  soil.  Incessant  struggles  and  daily  strifes 
form  the  history  of  the  first  five  or  six  years  of  the  ex- 
istence of  this  new  town,  which  consisted  of  but  two 
streets,  lined  with  huts  of  wood  and  canvas;  gambling 
tables,  houses  of  bad  fame  without  end,  and  three  or 
four  larger  buildings  used  for  stores.  While  there  ex- 
isted but  four  or  five  inns  or  public  houses,  perpetual 
orgies  in  the  mines,  strife,  murders,  and  assassinations 
\\  ere  the  order  of  the  day.  ]31ood  flowed  on  all  sides. 
Imprecations,  oaths,  the  most  profane  and  sacrilegious 
swearing,  shocked  the  very  rocks  of  that  virgin  country. 
In  a  word,  it  was  a  hell  ufjon  earth.  During  this  period 
a  good  number  of  decent  people,  especially  from  the 


86  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  IIEMISPHEKES. 

Northern  States,  had  emigrated  thither.  These  people 
determined  to  put  a  stop  to  this  dcviHsh  anarchy,  and 
with  a  view  to  the  good  work,  estabhshed  the  famous 
Vigilance  Committee.  Every  man  who  had  committed  a 
murder  was  brought  before  the  Committee,  and  hanged 
on  the  first  tree.  This  warning  acted  Hke  magic  with 
the  desperadoes.  The  Committee  proved  to  be  a  good 
medicine,  and  San  Francisco  after  a  httle,  became  a  per- 
fectly quiet,  respectable  town.  The  members  of  the 
Vigilance  Committee  dissolved  themselves  to  give  place 
to  regularly  constituted  tribunals. 

The  climate  is  dry  and  healthy,  with  a  moderate  tem- 
perature. The  coast  breeze  begins  at  eleven  A.M.  One 
drawback  is  the  frequent  earthquakes.  A  sea  wall  sixty- 
five  feet  wide  has  been  constructed  at  a  cost  of  three 
millions  of  dollars.  Market  Street  cuts  the  town  in 
two,  the  best  houses  lying  toward  Mission  Bay,  on  the 
south.  Half  of  the  town  is  perched  on  the  flank  of  the 
mountain — that  is,  on  the  steep  incline  of  a  granite  rock 
covered  with  a  thick  bed  of  gravel  and  sand,  which  when 
stirred  by  winds,  render  the  city  almost  unbearable  on 
account  of  the  dust.  The  houses,  with  very  few  excep- 
tions, are  all  built  of  wood.  There  are  many  large  ware- 
houses, stores,  theaters  (two  Chinese),  drinking-saloons, 
and  music-halls.  One  evening  strolling  alone  through 
a  principal  street,  I  heard  some  music,  and  reading  in 
large  letters  over  the  door  of  the  building  the  words, 
"  Music  Hall,"  I  imagined  I  was  to  witness  a  fine  per- 
formance. I  entered  the  building;  no  ticket  was  re- 
quested. The  very  thin  audience  appeared  to  me  \'ery 
strange,  and  their  behavior  still  stranger  till  1  took  a 
seat.  A  fancy  girl  placed  a  chair  next  to  mine,  as  if  to 
keep  me  compan}-.  Shortly  after,  she  requested  me  to 
take  a  drink  with  her.  \t  once  I  underst.)od  that  I 
was  in  a  wrong  pew,  and  I  left  her,  intensely  disgusted 


SAN  FRANCISCO. 


87 


There  are  from  forty  to  fifty  churches,  fifteen  of 
them  CathoHc,  and  two  joss-houses.  Sixty  newspapers 
(eight  daily).  Good  markets,  with  abundant  fruits  and 
vegetables.    The  native  wines  arc  excellent,  strong,  spark- 


ling,  and  cheap,  c.\'cc[)t  at  the  hotels,  where  the  charges 
are  very  high.  Tliis  extortion  I  have  found  in  nearly 
every  hotel  everywhere,  especially  if  you  call  for  foreign 
wines.     The  hotels  at  San  Frr^ncisco  are  good  and  rea» 


88  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

sonable.  At  the  very  best  you  pay  three  gold  dollars, 
everything  included  ;  there  is  no  extra  charge  of  any  kind, 
except  for  wines  and  liquors.  For  this  they  give  you 
an  excellent  room,  food  of  the  very  best  quality  and 
well  cooked.  This  I  paid  at  the  Occidental  Hotel. 
I-'or  five  dollars  you  may  have  a  magnificent  apartment 
with  a  drawing-room, -^vell  warmed.  Miners  and  people 
not  very  particular  about  elegance,  find  excellent  board 
and  lodging  for  half  a  dollar  a  day. 

With  Cols.  Black  and  Tobin,  and  other  friends,  I  visited 
the  city,  making  a  special  inspection  of  every  department 
of  the  Mint,  where  I  found  the  officersvery  obliging  in 
explaining  the  process  of  purifying,  melting,  and  weigh- 
ing the  gold  ;  how  it  was  made  in  bars,  and  subsequently 
manufactured  into  coins.  I  was  invited  to  celebrate 
Mass  in  several  churches,  and  to  visit  several  institutions. 
I  admired  very  much  St.  Ignatius  College,  conducted  by 
the  Jesuit  Fathers,  where  I  dined  several  times;  but  I 
could  not  accept  all  their  hospitality  because  I  had  man)'- 
other  friends  at  the  Occidental  Hotel  who  were  to  be 
my  companions  in  my  voyage  through  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
Oceanica,  and  Polynesia.  I  was  very  anxious  to  see  the 
venerable  old  missionary,  Rev.  M.  R.  Accolti,  S.  J.,  the 
founder  of  St.  Ignatius  College  in  this  city. 

W^'th  regard  to  the  Chinese,  they  are  a  class  of  hard- 
working people,  industrious,  excellent  gardeners,  and 
faithful  servants.  The  cause  of  the  extraordinar\' 
hatred  against  them  is  nothing  but  a  question  of  dollars 
and  cents.  The  Chinamen  are  content  with  less  wages 
than  the  lower  class  of  other  nations,  and  are  better 
workmen.  All  those  in  want  of  hands  naturally  em- 
ploy them,  for  they  work  for  half  the  wages  demanded 
by  other  help.  They  are  very  intelligent  and  possess 
some  degree  of  education.  On  board  the  steamers  of  the 
Pacific  Steamship  Company,  the  sailors,  and  oftentimes 


SAN  FRANCISCO. 


89 


the  cooks  and  waiters,  are  Chinese,  I  have  more  than 
once  gone  through  the  Chinese  quarter  in  San  Francisco 
without  any  danger,  and  without  observing  any  strife,  al- 
though late  in  the  evening  and  alone.  With  regard  to  the 
houses  of  ill-fame,  the  streets  where  these  unfortunates 
live  are  occupied  not  only  by  Chinese,  but  also  by 
Canadians  and  English-speaking  people. 

I  secured  one  of  the  best  state-rooms  on  the  City  of 
N'ew  York — a  large,  fine  American  steamer  of  the 
Australian  line.  This  is  a  new  four-week  mail  service  of 
the  Pacific  Mail  Company.  The  fare  for  cabin  passen- 
gers is  $200  gold,  all  included,  except  wines.  These 
steamers,  for  size,  comfort,  and  elegance,  are  by  far 
superior  to  those  that  cross  the  Atlantic.  The  ships  of 
the  Australian  line,  which,  for  thousands  of  miles,  have 
to  sail  through  the  tropics,  arc  built  expressly  for  the 
navigation  of  warm  climates,  having  regard  for  ventila- 
tion not  only  in  the  cabin,  but  also  for  each  state-room. 
In  the  passage-ticket  there  is  this  express  agreement, 
that  if  some  contagious  disease  breaks  out  during  the 
voyage,  the  passenger  or  passengers  so  attacked  must 
be  left  at  the  first  stopping-place  at  the  passenger's 
expense,  the  voyage  to  be  resumed  in  one  of  the 
company's  vessels.  Time,  25  days  to  New  Zealand,  28 
to  Sydney.  Distance  to  Honolulu  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  2,200  miles ;  to  the  Fiji  Islands,  2,900  miles  ; 
to  Sydney,  Australia,  2,100;  total  distance  from  vSan 
Francisco  to  Sydney,  7,200  miles ;  to  Auckland,  New 
Zealand,  via  Fiji  Islands,  6,000  miles  ;  to  Port  Chal- 
mers, via  Auckland,  in  New  Zealand,  31  days;  average 
sjjeed,  1 1  knots. 

At  San  P^rancisco,  in  addition  to  this  line,  there  is  a 
semi-monthly  steamer  for  Japan  and  Hong-Kong,  and 
another  semi-monthly  iox  Panama  and  the  Mexican  coast. 
Steamers  also  sail  for  British  Columbia  and  Alaska. 


90 


A    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMIsniERES. 


I  made  my  last  visit  to  the  Jesuit  College.  I  took 
leave  of  my  old,  good  friend  Father  Accolti,*  who,  hav- 
ing spent  many  years  among  the  Indians  of  Oregon, 
went  to  California  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  col- 
leges in  that  State  at  Santa  Clara  and  San  Francisco. 

I  sent  my  luggage  to  the  steamer  on  the  eve  of  our 
departure,  and  we  were  notified  that  the  Ncxv  York 
would  sail  at  9  A.M.  7  he  next  day,  Wednesday,  the 
13th  of  September,  I  was  on  board  the  Nciv  York  at 
an  early  hour,  in  company  with  several  Australian  and 
English  gentlemen  who  were  with  me  at  the  Occidental 
Hotel,  and  with  v/hom  I  was  already  on  terms  of  com- 
parative intimacy.  From  the  deck  we  could  perceive 
the  activity  of  the  crew  hurr)'ing  up  the  passengers' 
luggage,  the  officers  and  first-class  passengers  arranging 
their  state-rooms,  valises,  and  traveling-bags.  The 
steward  and  other  subordinate  officers  busy  with  the 
steerage  passengers.  The  smoke  from  the  steamer's 
funnel  told  us  that  the  hour  of  departure  was  approach- 
ing. On  the  wharf  the  scene  was  most  interesting.  An 
immense  and  thick  crowd,  not  of  idlers  and  vacant 
spectators,  but  of  relations  and  friends  of  the  passengers, 
thronged  around  the  gangwa\'.  You  could  see  warm 
tears  fiowing  from  red  and  sparkling  eyes,  hand  clasping 
hand;  all  this  mingled  with  good  wishes,  "safe  pas- 
sage," "  God  speed,"  and  such  like  expressions,  and  all 
tending  to  increase  the  solemnit}'  of  the  embarkation  on 
so  long  and  so  distant  a  vo\'age.  '■'■The  Mail !  "  Piles  of 
mail-bags  were  brought  in  a  number  of  double-team 
\\-agons.  The  bags  were  marked,  Sandi^'icJi  Islaiids 
(Honolulu),  Samoa,  Fidjii,  Nciu  Zealand,  Van  Dieviaiis 
Land,  Sydney,  etc. 


*  This  eminent  and  laborious  missionary  died  at  San  Francisco  on 
the  4th  of  November,  1878. 


THE  GOLDEN  GA  TE. 


91 


Here  the  scene  took  a  new  and  increased  animation. 
Clasps  of  hands,  kisses,  good-byes,  and  white  handker 
chiefs  wiping  tears.  Just  at  9  A.M.  the  mail  was  got  in, 
''All  aboard  !  "  cried  an  officer  in  a  distinct,  loud  voice. 
The  cables  were  ordered  off  from  the  moorings.  While 
some  of  the"  crew  were  pulling  on  board  the  step^, 
platforms,  ^^Hold  on  !  Jiold  on  !  "  was  heard  from  the 
wharf  in  a  stout,  clamorous  tone.  "  Hold  on !  A 
basket  easy  deck-chair  for  his  excellency  Mr.  King, 
Prime  iMinister  of  Honolulu."  A  tall,  slab-sided  man, 
holding  with  both  hands,  over  his  head,  a  long  basket- 
chair,  was  hurr)'ing  his  way  to  the  wharf  through  an 
immense  crowd.  hVom  hand  to  hand  the  chair  flew  on 
deck,  antl  the  Nciv  York,  having  fired  a  cannon,  left  the 
Pacific  Mail  Company's  pier  amid  acclamations  and 
the  waving  of  the  handkerchiefs  of  the  multitude  on 
land,  and  of  the  passengers  and  crew  on  board. 

The  sk\-  A\'as  clear,  which  afforded  us  a  fine  opportu- 
nity of  enjoying  a  full  view  of  the  bay  ;  and  we  flattered 
ourselves  that  we  were  about  to  have  a  pleasant  pas- 
sage. In  one  hour  we  were  crossing  the  Golden  Gate, 
and  I  commenced  to  feel  the  effect  of  the  undulation  of 
the  waves,  indicating  a  rough  sea  outside.  Thick,  heav\' 
clouds,  shrouding  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  announced 
a  battle  with  the  elements.  To  this  gloom  add  the  sandy 
hills  rising  nearl\-  perpendicularly  from  the  sea,  and  the 
brown  wooden  houses.  The  melancholy  feelings  at 
my  heart  were  on  the  increase.  .San  hTancisco,  as 
viewed  from  the  sea,  offers  no  charming  or  flattering 
aspect.  The  Cliff  House,  over  whose  three  rocks  Ijircis 
and  seals  find  a  favorite  sporting  ground,  was  the  last 
p<')int  of  land  \-isibl(;  :  Ijut  long  before  it  had  sunk  on  the 
horizon,  I  had  (lisa])peari:(l  from  the  (U;ck.  I  was  \ery 
sick  from  ni}-  old  complaint — the  sea-sickness — so  I 
went  to  bed. 


92 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


The  billows  gradually  swelled  to  mountains ;  the 
steamer  commenced  to  pitch  tremendously ;  nearly  all 
the  passengers  silently  retired  to  their  state-rooms.  I 
could  plainly  hear  the  efforts  of  the  sea-sick  passengers 
as  they  paid  unwilling  tribute  to  Neptune  ;  and  soon, 
but  against  my  consent,  I  was  obliged  to  join  in  this 
very  disagreeable  and  painful  operation  and  its  deathlike 
pangs.  No  person  can  understand  the  feelings  of  the 
unfortunate  sea-sick  wretch,  except  those  who  have  ex- 
perienced it.  He  becomes  indifferent,  entirely  apa- 
thetic, unconcerned,  even  if  the  boat  was  going  to  sink' 
to  the  bottom,  and  what  is  worae,  he  finds  no  sympathy. 
They  say  "  it  is  nothing,  only  sea-sickness,"  and  some- 
times they  even  laugh  at  hiin.  I  sent  for  the  second 
steward,  a  fine  and  obliging  Irishman,  who  offered  to 
do  anything  for  me,  but  nothing  could  help  me.  I  had 
no  desire  for  anything.  Everything  increased  my 
nausea. 

The  N^C7V  Yoi'k  had  a  covered  corridor  all  round  the 
vessel  outside  the  state-rooms,  with  the  view  to  venti- 
lating them  by  the  windows,  which  opened  on  it.  In 
the  first  sleepless  night  I  went  to  the  end  of  this  corri- 
dor, but  I  could  no';  stand  on  my  feet,  and  I  tried  to 
hurry  back,  crawling  on  all-fours  terribly  sea-sick  the 
while.  Through  mistake  and  in  the  darkness,  I  went 
into  a  wrong  state-room,  and  crept  into  a  berth,  which  I 
found  occupied,  but  I  insisted  that  it  was  mine,  and 
claimed  it,  too  soon  to  discover  my  mistake.  I  apolo- 
gized, and  crawled  to  my  own  state-room,  mox'ing  on 
hands  and  feet,  and  miserably  ill  all  the  time.  In  the 
morning  I  discovered  that  I  had  put  on  some  of  the 
clothing  belonging  to  the  gentleman  of  the  other  state- 
room, into  which  I  had  gone  by  mistake,  while  he  le- 
tained  some  of  my  wearing  apparel.  I  also  exchanged 
one  shoe. 


A  MISERABLE  NIG/IT.  (^3 

During  the  long,  sleepless  night  I  was  in  torture.  I 
began  to  ask  myself,  How  can  I  possibly  bear  these 
pangs  of  death  for  one  month?  I  was  angry  against 
myself  that  in  an  evil  hour  I  had  consented  to  under- 
take such  a  long  sea-voyage,  knowing  how  bad  a  sailor 
I  was.  But  I  was  under  the  impression,  that  this  being 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  it  was  not  liable  to  those  storms 
which  render  the  Atlantic  a  continuation  of  storms  and 
heavy  swells.  Reflecting  upon  this  subject,  despite  my 
respect  due  to  that  famous  Portuguese  navigator,  I"er- 
nando  Magellan,  I  was  vexed  against  him  for  having 
given  the  name  of  Pacific  to  this  ocean,  so  remarkable 
for  the  fury  of  its  storms  and  the  agitation  of  its  wa- 
ters. It  is  true  that  Magellan  had  experienced  a  preva- 
lence of  calms,  and  on  account  of  this  circumstance 
styled  it  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but  by  no  means  does  it 
deserve  this  title. 

Thinking  that  I  could  not  survive  the  nausea  of  such 
a  long  sea-voyage,  I  resolved  to  stop  at  Honolulu,  which 
we  were  to  reach  in  eight  days,  and  return  to  San  Fran- 
cisco by  the  steamer  expected  back  from  Kandaiva 
(Fiji  Islands).  While  revolving  this  happy  thought  in 
my  mind,  I  went  to  sleep,  and  in  the  morning  I  felt 
better  and  refreshed.  The  sea  had  abated  ;  the  wind 
had  changed.  I  was  informed  that  \'csterday  we  had 
met  the  end  of  a  north-east  monsc«)n.  W^e  had  reached 
longitude  \2f\  52',  west;  latitude  35*^,  1 1 ',  runnin'.;;' 
290  miles.  Having  taken  some  refreshment  in  m\-bed, 
I  dressed  and  went  on  deck;  from  thence  I  scanned,  a-. 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  extensive  Pacific  Ocean. 
whose  crisp  and  dying  waves  were  intensely  blue.  Xot 
only  did  large-sized  gulls  follow  the  wake  of  the  ship, 
dashing  to  the  water  to  pick  up  some  refuse  of  food 
thrown  away  by  the  cook,  but  they  fluttered  above  the 
deck. 


94 


A    TO  UR  IN  BO  Til  HEMISPHERES. 


The  next  day  the  weather  was  beautiful ;  we  felt 
comfortable,  and  had  leisure  to  become  acquainted 
with  each  other.  The  name  of  the  captain  was  J.  M. 
Caverly,  an  accomplished  gentleman  and  navigator,  a 
native  of  Belfast  in  the  State  of  Maine,  U.  S.  A.,  and  the 
other  officers  were  equally  competent  and  gentleman- 
like. The  crew  were  all  Chinese,  but  the  servants, 
cooks,  and  waiters  were  Americans  and  Europeans. 
But  what  a  fine  company  of  first-class  passengers ! 
There  were  Italians,  Germans,  Russians,  Englishmen, 
Australians,  New  Zealanders,  and  Sandwich  Islanders, 
besides  the  Americans.  The  first-class  passengers  were 
eighty-six,  including  a  good  number  of  ladies.  There 
were  merchants,  land-owners,  journalists,  circus  agents, 
musicians,  and  two  opera  companies.  You  may  imag- 
ine what  a  fine  time  we  had.  I-lvery  evening  there  was 
a  concert,  and  among  the  tropics  under  a  tropical  sky, 
either  shining  with  a  moonlight,  or  brightened  by  the 
Southern  Cross,  the  Ship,  and  other  antarctic  constella- 
tions, we  enjoyed  the  exquisite  singing  and  music,  which 
on  deck  had  a  peculiarly  magical  effect  from  its  reverber- 
ations over  a  calm  ocean.  Our  daily  routine  was,  early 
in  the  morning,  a  bath,  at  least  for  those  who  desired 
it ;  then  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  a  walk  in  dcs/uibil/e  on 
deck,  in  order  to  take  the  morning  fresh  air,  which  is 
ver}'  necessary,  and  thoroughly  appreciated  in  a  tropi- 
cal climate.  Dress  at  nine  for  breakfast.  .After  break- 
fast, chatting,  walking,  reading,  and  such  like.  Nearly 
every  da\'  I  had  a  number  of  passengers  around  me, 
requesting  explanations  upon  some  point  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  generally  some  dogma ;  sometimes  ni}'  ex- 
planations taking  the  form  of  a  lecture  lasting  for  one 
and  occasionally  two  hours,  when  I  admired  the  patience 
and  earnestness  with  wiiich  m\'  audience  listened,  and  at 
least  appeared   convinced  at   my  arguments,  especially 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  SHIP. 


95 


v\4ien  the  subject  was  some  controversy.  Many  as- 
sured me  of  their  desire  of  embracing  the  Catholic  re- 
Hgion.  This  naturally  afforded  me  a  good  appetite  for 
the  luncheon  which  was  ready  at  one  P.M.  After  lunch 
we  spent  these  very  hot  parts  of  the  day  in  reading 
under  double  awnings,  or  taking  a  siesta,  or  reading  in 
the  state-room.  Dinner  at  six  P.M.,  then  recreation  in 
the  hall,  or  on  deck,  but  nearly  every  night  there  was  a 
free  concert,  sometimes  in  costume,  either  in  the  recrea- 
tion hall  or  on  deck. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

SANnWICH  ISLANDS — HONOLULU — FIRE  ALARM — CROSSING  THE  LINE — 
CROSSING  THE  SUN — NAVIGATORS'  ISLANDS — MEETING  STEAMER 
"city    OF    .SYDNEY" — KANOAWA — FIJI    ISLANDS — AUSTRALIA. 

Except  the  finst  day,  the  weather  was  beautiful,  and 
we  enjoyed  the  passage  immensely  in  the  company  of 
such  social  and  jovial  passengers.  One  of  these  was 
very  talkative  and  frantic  on  the  subject  of  temperance, 
that  kind  of  temperance  forced  by  the  so-called  Maine 
Liquor  Law.  He  was  an  Englishman.  He  had  been 
some  time  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  was  said  to  be  agent 
of  a  large  Society  endeavoring  to  purchase  an  extensive 
tract  of  land  for  the  Society.  He  was  suspected  of  being 
a  Mormon  agent  anxious  to  acquire  some  island  or  part 
of  one,  to  be  settled  by  the  Mormons.  His  destination 
was  New  Zealand.  A  number  of  passengers  in  jest 
asked  the  captain  to  persuade  this  temperance  apostle 
to  deliver  a  lecture.  This  request  was  complied  with. 
Although  nearly  all  the  first-class  passengers  made  use 
of  wines  or  ale  at  meal-time,  yet  all  A\ere  very  temper- 
ate, in  the  proper  meaning  of  temperance.  The  subject 
(jf  the  lecture  was  not  popular,  and  as  he  delivered  it 
(the  evening  before  our  arrival  at  Honoluhf),  many  of 
the  younger  and  more  jovial  passengers  were  engaged 
in  drinking  champagne,  wine,  and  ale  for  sIkjw.  The 
lecturer  saw  the  fun,  but  too  late,  and  scarcely  relished  it. 

We  expected  to  see  land  earl}'. in  the  morning  of  the 
2 1st  of  September,  and  at  two  A.M.  we  wei-e  in  sight  of 
one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  but  as  the  shades  of  night 
(96) 


HONOLULU. 


97 


were  upon  us,  we  could  not  well  observe  the  promised 
land.  At  five  A.M.  we  were  in  the  harbor  of  Honolulu. 
As  the  entrance  is  very  intricate,  it  is  necessary  to  take 
a  pilot  several  miles  from  land.  The  pilot  came  in  a 
catamaran,  a  kind  of  canoe  or  float  made  of  three  pieces 
of  wood  lashed  together.  After  our  long  voyage  the 
Sandwich  Islands  presented  an  enchanting  scene.  The 
variety  of  tropical  trees,  the  luxuriant  vegetation,  either 
in  the  gardens  or  in  the  fields,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
flower-gardens  so  tastefully  arranged,  gave  me  the  im- 
pression that  I  was  in  the  land  of  fairies.  At  the 
wharf  a  large  crowd  of  Honolulans  assembled  to  tender 
a  respectful  and  hearty  reception  to  Hon.  Mr.  King,  the 
Honolulan  minister,  who,  with  his  wife,  a  native  of  this 
island  and  a  near  relation  (a  daughter,  I  think)  of  King 
Kalakaua,  was  returning  from  Washington,  D.  C,  where 
he  had  concluded  a  treaty  of  commerce  between 
America  and  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  King  had 
sent  his  state  carriage  for  the  conveyance  of  the  dis- 
tinguished passengers,  who,  followed  by  an  enormous 
crowd,  drove  into  the  city.  This  occasion  afforded  me 
a  favorable  opportunity  of  seeing  the  natives  and  their 
costumes,  which  are  like  the  Europeans,  or,  I  should 
rather  say,  like  the  North  American  Indians  dre:-sed 
like  the  Europeans,  except  that  the  women,  without 
exception,  wear  a  loose  light  gown  resembling  a  chem- 
ise. Although  this  is  not  a  graceful  manner  of  dressing, 
it  seems  admirabl)'  adapted  to  the  warm  climate.  The}- 
were  all  bareheaded. 

The  real  name  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  is  Ilincaiian 
Jslau/is,  but  they  were  named  Saiidi^'ich  after  Eord 
Sandwich,  who  in\enled  that  pleasant  combination  c^f 
bread,  mustard,  and  ham- -called  after  his  name.  This 
group  or  chain  of  fifteen  islands,  connected  b\'  coral 
banks,  were  discovered  b\'  Ca[)tain  C(Kjk,  in  i//*^.  The 
5 


98  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

population  at  that  time  was  estimated  to  be  400,000, 
but  at  present  it  hardly  reaches  63,000,  including  Ameri- 
cans, English,  Portuguese,  Chinese,  etc.  The  diminu- 
tion is  owing  partly  to  the  desolating  wars  of  Tamehame- 
ha's  reign,  partly  to  pestilences  brought  in  by  foreign 
vessels,  but  still  more  to  the  bad  management  of  En- 
glish Protestant  missionaries,  who  exact  unreasonable 
strait-lacedness  from  the  inhabitants.  They  forbid  them 
to  sing,  play,  dance,  or  to  enjoy  other  native  innocent 
amusements  sweet  to  their  nature  as  the  breath  of  life. 
The  islanders  were  put  under  such  restraint  that  they 
became  melancholy  and  discontented.  This  with  other 
causes  made  them  pine  away  very  rapidly.  Some  na- 
tives of  the  P^iji  Pslands  when  I  was  in  Kandaua, 
answering  to  my  questions  said  :  "  We  are  dying  away 
very  fast ;  unless  these  missionaries  go  away  (meaning 
the  same  kind  of  English  Protestants)  we  will  soon  die. 
\\'c  are  not  allowed  to  sing,  dance,  play,  or  take  any  rec- 
reation.    W^e  can  not  live  without  these  things " 

etc.  And  indeed  as  soon  as  those  missionaries  were 
expelled  or  went  away,  and  Catholic  missionaries  took 
their  place,  the  native  population  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands  increased  very  considerably.  Extending  be- 
tween lat.  18''  50'  tar22'^  20'  N.,  the  climate  is  warm,  but 
healthy.  The  winter  is  marked  only  by  the  prevalence 
of  heax'y  rains  between  December  and  ]\Iarch.  The 
total  superficial  extent  is  about  6,000  square  miles,  h'ing 
aijout  one-third  of  the  distance  between  Mexico  and 
Cliina.  Most  of  these  islands  as  well  as  of  the  Poh'ue- 
sian  Islands,  which  stud  the  Pacific,  are  volcanic  or 
coral  in  their  origin,  or  both  together;  that  is,  a  loft\- 
volcano  springs  up  from  the  bottom,  and  a  coral  reef  is 
gradually  built  round  it.  In  the  Sandwich  Islands 
some  volcanoes  are  in  activit}'.  Se\'eral  of  the  sum- 
mits  are   of    great    height.      Mount    Mouna    Roa,   and 


HONOLULU.  Q9 

Mount  Mouna  Kea,  are  the  loftiest,  and  estimated  to  be 
about  15,000  feet  high.  However,  some  estimate  the 
volcano  Mauna  Roa  (or  Loa),  at  13,120  feet. 

Capt.  Cook  found  no  animals  except  a  small  species 
of  hog,  dog,  and  a  sort  of  rat ;  but  this  human  dis- 
coverer introduced  goats,  hogs,  poultry,  and  a  great 
variety  of  fruits,  which  have  since  multiplied  over  the 
Pacific  Islands.  He  has  rendered  the  Sandwich  Islands 
very  convenient  to  whalers,  where  a  great  quantity  and 
variety  of  provisions  are  always  to  be  found — sugar, 
coffee,  rice,  pork,  hides,  tallow,  wool,  salt,  cocoanut  oil, 
limes,  pumpkins,  arrowroot,  yams,  sweet  potatoes, 
bread-fruit,  plantains,  etc.  The  favorite  fruit  of  the 
natives  is  the  taro  root,  which  when  used  is  baked. 
Pearl-shells  are  also  found  in  these  waters. 

Honolulu,  the  capital  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  the 
residence  of  the  King,  is  on  Woahoo  (or  Oahu)  Island, 
and  contains  14,850  inhabitants,  including  all  foreigners. 
It  lays  under  the  Oahu  volcano,  a  convenient  place  for 
whalers  and  other  vessels.  The  streets  are  narrow, 
crooked,  and  unpaved.  Excei)t  the  (jovernment  house, 
the  King's  palace,  one  hotel,  and  a  few  exceptions,  the 
other  houses  are  but  one  story,  and  by  no  means  ele- 
gant in  architecture,  except  in  the  suburbs,  which  have 
neat  and  imposing  villas,  ornamented  with  fine  walks, 
sided  by  bright  flowers  and  shade- trees. 

While  others  of  the  party  went  in  carriages  through 
the  country,  and  to  the  vf)lcano  Oahu,  I  went  to  see 
the  bishop,  Kt.  Rev.  Louis  Maigret — a  saintly,  vener- 
able-looking man,  who  had  passed  over  twenty-five  }'ears 
on  these  islands.  Although  in  the  sevent)'-second  year 
of  his  age,  he  was  just  returning  from  an  island  of  this 
group,  wliere  he  had  administered  the  sacrament  of  con- 
firmation to  a  number  <jf  lepers,  who  are  confined  ex- 
clusively there,  and  where   no   other  people  are   alhnved 


lOO  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

to  reside.  A  French  priest  has  sacrificed  himself  by 
residing  on  the  island  in  order  to  administer  to  the  af- 
flicted outcasts  there. 

The  saintly  bishop  wanted  me  to  say  Mass  and  stop 
with  him,  but  I  was  obliged  to  decline  the  kindly  invita- 
tion. I  was  not  fasting,  and  I  wanted  to  see  the  city.  I 
received  from  him  much  valuable  information  about 
the  natives,  their  habits,  language,  and  religion.  He 
brought  me  to  the  church,  where  I  was  very  much  edi- 
fied to  see  one  of  -the  missionaries  explaining  in  their 
language  the  catecliisni  to  some  three  or  four  hundred 
native  children,  boys  and  girls,  who  squatted  on  the 
floor,  and  who,  with  great  attention  and  respect,  were 
answering  the  questions  of  the  missionary.  There  are 
seventy  Catholic  churches  and  twenty-four  priests  in 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  There  are  also  some  Sisters  con- 
ducting schools  amongst  the  natives. 

The  largest  island  of  this  group  is  (3\vyhee  (or  Huahai 
or  Hawaii),  to  the  south-cast,  a  beautiful  island  of  lava, 
4,000  square  miles  in  extent.  In  Katakokooa  Bay 
(Captain  Cook's  Bayj,  on  this  island,  the  famous  geog- 
rapher was  murdered  on  his  second  visit  and  third  voy- 
age, 14th  of  February,  1779.  He  was  in  the  act  of  com- 
manding his  men,  engaged  in  battle  with  the  natives, 
to  return  to  the  ship,  and  having  his  back  turned  to  the 
hostiles,  an  arrow  wounded  him  mortally  ;  they  took 
away  his  body,  but  were  subsec]uently  forced  to  sur- 
render it.  Next  to  this  is  Maui  (^Moweej  Island,  600 
square  miles;  Oahu  (Woahoo),  520  square  miles,  where 
Honolulu  is;  Tauai  (.\tooi),  525  square  miles.  The 
others  are  smaller.  There  are  no  j)oisonous  reptiles  ex- 
cepting a  few  small  centipedes. 

I  visited  the  Parliament  House,  ornamented  with  the 
life-size  portraits  of  Kann/iauic/ia  (or  Tamehameha), 
and  of  the  king  Rihoriho  with  his  queen,  dressed  as  En- 


HONOLULU.  10 1 

glish  sovereigns.  They  both  died  in  England.  The 
Hkeness  of  his  brother,  Kauikcaouli,  and  that  of  the  re- 
gent queen-mother,  Kaaiunanu.  There  is  a  good  mu- 
seum and  Hbrary,  which,  with  great  courtesy,  is  shown 
to  strangers.  I  entered  several  houses  of  the  natives, 
whom  I  found  kind,  and  of  an  open  countenance.  They 
took  me  to  their  plantations,  explaining  the  manner  of 
cultivation  and  irrigation.  The  favorite  taro  plant  was 
raised  very  extensively.  It  has  leaves  like  the  water- 
lily,  and  large,  thick,  oblong  roots,  which  require  con- 
stant irrigation. 

It  was  very  warm.  Cold  drinks  could  not  be  had. 
There  was  no  ice,  and  the  machine  for  making  it  was 
out  of  order.  Soda-water,  without  ice,  soon  became 
disgusting.  A  gentleman  gave  me  orange-cider,  that  is, 
cider  made  from  oranges,  which  are  very  abundant  in 
this  region,  but  I  found  it  anything  but  agreeable. 
Meeting  a  German  gentleman  and  a  Russian  lady,  my 
fellow-passengers,  exhausted  from  the  heat,  the  lady 
somewhat  sun-struck,  I  took  them  to  the  nearest  kind 
of  a  saloon,  but  failed  to  obtain  any  sort  of  refreshment 
for  them. 

The  natives,  in  general,  are  well-formed,  and  above 
the  middle  stature,  with  fine  muscular  limbs  and  open 
countenances,  inquisitive  and  intelligent.  Their  dispo- 
sition is  mild  and  gentle,  although  previously  to  the 
abolition  of  their  idolatrous  religion,  the  practice  of 
sacrificing  human  victims  pre\'ailed  amongst  them. 
Their  color  is  reddish-(jli\e,  and  their  hair  black  ;  they 
much  resemble  (jur  northern  nati\e  Americans.  Their 
language  is  a  dialect  of  the  language  spoken  by  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Societ\-  Islands,  and  I  think  generally 
by  the  South  Pacific  Islands,  and  I  believe  it  has  some- 
what of  an  affinity  with  our  Indian  languages.  I  found 
several   words   similar    to    the   Algonquin.     I    left    the 


102  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Sandwich  Islands  with  a  very  favorable  impression  of 
the  people  and  their  country. 

The  Honolulu  Minister  had  brought  the  United 
States  ratification  of  the  commercial  treaty.  A  great 
feast  was  proclaimed  for  that  evening.  A  grand  pro- 
cession and  illumination  was  to  take  place,  then  speeches 
and  supper  at  the  Hall.  An  English  man-of-war  was 
in  port,  and  all  the  ofificers  and  crew  were  invited  to 
join  in  the  procession  and  grand  demonstration,  while 
the  band  was  to  accompany  them.  Of  course  we  were 
all  invited,  but  Captain  Caverly  had  already  fixed  the 
hour  of  sailing  at  5  P.M.,  and  punctually  at  that  mo- 
ment the  New  York  left  the  wharf  of  Honolulu. 

We  were  now  na\'igating  toward  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere, and  the  heat  was  increasing  in  proportion  as  we 
approached  the  line,  but,  thanks  to  the  trade-winds 
which  fanned  us,  we  did  not  experience  that  stifling, 
sultry  atmosphere  so  much  dreaded  by  navigators  of  the 
torrid  zone.  W'e  had  been  four  days  out  of  Honolulu, 
and  were  rapidly  approaching  the  line,  lat.  3"  3'  X., 
long.  i65'43''\V.  After  luncheon,  about  3  I'.M.,  the 
hottest  part  of  the  day,  when  many  of  the  passengers 
had  retired  for  a  siesta,  while  others  were  reading  in  a 
cool  corner  of  the  cabin,  a  loud  and  long  shrieking 
whistle  of  the  engine  was  heard,  which  brought  nearly 
all  the  passengers  to  the  door  of  their  state-rooms, 
anxiously  demanding,  "  What  is  that  ?  Wliat  is  the 
matter?"  "  Fire-alarm  I  !  "  was  the  repl)\  This  was 
enough  to  hurry  ever\'bod\-  on  deck,  where  we  found 
all  the  pum|)s  at  work,  and  floods  of  water  rushing  in 
every  direction,  while  the  officers  and  crew  were  taking 
their  position  near  the  eight  life-boats,  to  which  the 
stewards  were  carrying  provisions.  There  was  no  con- 
fusion. The  cai)tain,  standing  very  coolly  at  his  post, 
gave  the  sign  to  lower  and  man  the  boats,  which  was 


CROSSING  THE  LINE. 


103 


done  in  a  moment.  We  affrightedly  demanded,  "  Where 
is  the  fire?"  "There  is  no  fire,"  was  the  reply  from  an 
officer ;  "  it  is  only  a  practice."  This  changed  our 
terror  into  laughter. 

Next  day  we  expected  to  cross  the  line.  The  steer- 
age passengers  requested  the  captain  to  give  them  per- 
mission to  go  through  that  famous  old-fashioned  per- 
formance, which  once  was  so  strictly  observed  when  a 
ship  crossed  the  line.  The  captain  consented  to  their 
request,  provided  that  nobody  would  take  umbrage  at 
the  horse  play.  Even  among  the  first-class  passengers 
there  was  an  idea  entertained  of  performing  the  usual 
ceremonies ;  but  as  nearly  every  one  declared  that  they 
had  crossed  the  line  at  other  times,  and  as  it  is  only 
those  who  for  the  first  time  cross  the  line  who  are 
shaved  by  Neptune,  or  pay  a  fine,  the  first-class  passen- 
gers left  the  matter  with  those  of  the  steerage. 

The  performance  consists  of  the  following  :  On  the 
eve  of  the  crossing  of  the  line  a  great  splashing  and 
dashing  of  water  is  made  and  heard  on  deck  to  make 
believe  that  Neptune  has  come  on  board  and  taken 
possession  of  the  ship.  Next  day  a  sailor  dressed  like 
Neptune  with  the  trident  in  his  hand  goes  on  deck  and 
places  himself  in  a  prominent  place,  and  summons  the 
captain,  officers,  and  all  passengers  to  appear  before 
him.  He  first  cjuestions  tlie  captain  about  the  ship, 
tonnage,  quantity  and  quality  of  cargo,  whether  in- 
sured, etc.,  place  of  sailing,  destination,  etc.,  number  of 
sailors,  passengers,  etc.;  then  whether  it  is  tlie  first  time 
of  crossing  the  line.  If  the  ca]:)tain  says  that  he  lias 
crossed  the  line  at  other  times,  he  is  let  go;  but  if  it 
be  the  first  time,  he  is  ordered  to  be  shaved  by  Nep- 
tune's companions  or  pay  a  fine  to  the  sea  god,  which 
seldom  ranges  under  five  dollars,  which  the  cai)tain  is 
very  glad  to  pay  to  get   rid  of  trouble.     Now  all  offi- 


104 


A    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


cers  and  passengers  go  through  the  same  routine,  and 
are  fined  in  proportion  to  their  means,  but  seldom  so 
high  as  five  dolhirs,  unless  they  are  wealthy.  If  some 
person  who  has  ne\er  crossed  the  line  before  refuses  to 
pay  the  fine  which  Neptune  imposes  on  him,  he  is  de- 
livered into  the  hands  of  his  tormentors  to  be  shaved, 
which  performance  is  executed  on  deck  by  some  of  the 
crew  in  a  kind  of  room  made  of  canxas  and  covered 
with  another  canvas  full  of  water,  which,'  when  the 
shaving  operation  is  over,  suddenU'  opens  on  him  and 
he  becomes  deluged,  and  left  to. extricate  himself  in  the 
best  manner  he  can.  This  is  generally  taken  in  good 
humor,  which  is  the  wisest  way  to  take  it,  but  some- 
times it  is  attended  with  brawls  and  fights.  A  wealthy 
English  gentleman  related  to  me  that  when  he  crossed 
the  line  for  the  first  time  they  had  determined  to  shave 
him,  but  he  had  protested  that  he  would  not  let  them 
do  it  even  at  the  cost  of  his  life.  The  day  before  the 
crossing  of  the  line  he  offered  an.d  ])aid  five  dollars  for 
his  fine  that  he  should  not  be  shaved,  }'et  notwithstand- 
ing this,  they  were  determined  to  shave  him,  while  he 
was  as  ecjually  resolved  not  to  be  shaved  ;  and  he  was 
so  firm  in  this  resolve,  that  foreseeing  trouble  and  even 
murder,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  mother  in  I^ngland,  to 
be  sent  to  her  after  his  death.  On  the  da\"  of  the  cross. 
ing  of  the  line  he  was  ordered  by  Nej^tune  to  be  shaved. 
He  protested  again,  and  called  on  the  captain  for  pro- 
tection, claiming  that  having  paid  the  fine,  he  was  not 
liable  to  be  shax'ed.  But  the  captain  seemed  not  to  be 
disposed  to  interfere.  \\'hen  followed  b\'  some  of  the 
crew,  he  ran  into  the  cabin  and  locked  himself  in,  and 
drawing  two  revolvers,  threatened  to  shoot  an)'bod}' 
who  would  attempt  to  seize  him.  The  sailors  being 
unable  to  force  the  door,  one  of  them  attempted  to 
enter  through  the  window.     The  gentleman,  however, 


.4.V  C'A'A'.VOII^X  ISLAXD.  IO5 

presented  the  revolver  at  his  head,  determined  to  shoot ; 
but  here  the  captain  interfered. 

Wednesday,  September  27th,  we  crossed  the  Hne  at 
6  A.M.,  long.  167'^  y'  west.  It  was  very  strange  to  see  the 
water,  which  till  now  was  running  toward  the  north, 
change  its  direction  southward.  The  sea-water  had  at- 
tained a  heat  as  high  as  eight}--two  degrees  of  Fahren- 
heit. On  steamers  navigating  under  the  tropics,  the 
officers  are  obliged  to  record  three  times  a  day  the  de- 
gree of  heat  existing  on  deck,  in  the  cabin,  and  in  the 
hold  ;  likewise  they  must  record  three  times  every  day 
the  heat  of  the  sea-water,  which  is  done  by  taking  a 
pail  of  it,  and  placing  the  thermometer  in  it.  I'he  cap- 
tain once  a  day  inspects  all  the  state-rooms. 

Next  da}-,  September  28th,  that  is,  at  midnight,  we 
crossed  the  sun,  which  having  crossed  the  equator  at 
the  autumnal  equinox,  and  being  in  libra,  was  some  de- 
grees south  of  the  line.  Sun  obser\-ations  having  been 
taken  at  noon,  it  was  found  that  we  were  already  three 
degrees  south  of  the  sun,  lat.  5"  20'  south,  long.  168'^ 
31'  west.  A  great  number  of  albatrosses,  the  largest 
sea-bird  ever  found,  gulls  of  gigantic  size,  and  having 
two  long  slim  feathers  on  the  small  tail,  and  some 
other  strange  birds,  were  indications  that  we  were  sur- 
rounded by  desert  islands  and  had  entered  the  Poly- 
nesian .Archipelagoes.  We  passed  a  small  island  \\hich 
the  captain  said  was  not  marked  on  the  navigation- 
maps.  The  Pacific  Ocean  is  not  well  surve}'ed  ;  hence 
the  na\"igati<)n  is  dangerous,  not  onl\'  on  this  account, 
but  als(^  f(jr  the  many  different  currents,  in  addition 
to  the  coral  islands,  which  are  continnalh'  forming.  The 
Compan)'  has  already  lost  one  of  its  steamers  about  this 
locality.  In  lat.  (j'  43'  south,  and  long.  169^  58'  west, 
about  midnight  we  i)assed  ver)'  close  to  a  brigantine 
having  no  light.  Who  was  to  be  blamed  if  the  Nczo 
5* 


Io6  -"l    TOrii  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Ft'r/C' had  run  through  her  ?  Thanks  to  the  watchful- 
ness of  our  cfificient  officers  who  discovered  it  in  time, 
a  frightful  catastrophe  was  avoided. 

On  the  29th  September,  in  the  evening,  we  passed  an 
island  called  '■^Gciitc  Hcrinosay  It  was  so  named  on 
account  of  the  inhabitants,  who  are  stout  and  well 
formed.  In  general,  it  must  be  said  of  the  natives  of 
the  Society  Islands,  of  the  Navigators'  Islands,  and  of 
several  other  groups  of  the  South  Pacific  Ocean,  that 
they  are  well  formed  and  even  handsome. 

Next  day,  September  30th,  we  passed  very  close  to  the 
Sazvai  (or  Samoa)  Island,  one  of  the  beautiful  and  fertile 
Navigators"  Islands.  This  cluster  of  about  ten  islands, 
discovered  by  Bougainville  in  1768,  is  north-cast  of  the 
Friendly  Islands,  between  lat.  13^  and  15  south,  and 
long.  168°  and  173^  west.  The  vegetation  is  very  rich, 
and  the  islands  abound  in  cocoa,  bread-fruit,  bananas, 
and  domestic  animals.  The  natives  are  numerous,  well 
formed,  industrious,  but  treacherous  and  ferocious. 
The  day  was  extremely  warm,  on  account  of  the  land- 
air — -sea-water  eighty-four  degrees  Fahrenheit ;  heat  in 
the  shade,  ninet}'-four  degrees.  The  steamer  rounded 
the  north-west  promontory,  thus  -giving  us  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  two  sides  of  this  island.  We  were  de- 
lighted with  the  freshness  and  charms  of  the  Samoa 
Islands.  We  could  see  the  natives  walking  on  the  sea- 
shore under  the  cocoanut-trees,  and  in  tlieir  houses, 
which  were  nothing  else  but  long  and  wide  huts  cov'ered 
with  brushes  and  leaves.  The  surf  was  rising  \-er\'  high, 
breaking  upon  the  coral  reefs  which  surround  this  isl- 
and, as  it  does  all  the  islands  of  the  .South  Pacific 
Ocean.  .Samoa  is  80  miles  long  and  4,000  feet  above 
the  sea-level.  The  island  had  long  passed  out  of  sight, 
but  the  wake  of  the  ship  was  followed  by  a  large  num 
ber  of  sea-birds  of  different  kinds. 


THE  LOST  DA  V. 


107 


It  was  calm  moonlight,  the  placid  south-hemisphere 
westward  current  gently  crisped  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
and  the  ship  furrowing  a  phosphorescent  ocean  left  an 
illuminated  wake.  Most  of  us  were  on  deck  to  enjoy 
the  fanning  of  our  faces  by  the  current  of  air  caused  by 
the  rapid  course  of  the  steamer,  and  contemplating  the 
four  bright  stars  of  the  Southern  Cross — a  constella- 
tion indicated  by  two  other  bright  stars  called  "  Tlic 
Pointers^'  which  are  in  a  direct  line  with  the  Southern 
Cross.  On  a  sudden  we  discovered  to  westward,  blue 
lights,  and  soon  after  rockets,  a  sign  of  the  presence  of 
some  ship.  Our  steamer  answered  the  signals.  It  was 
the  City  of  Sydney,  a  steamer  of  the  same  line  returning 
from  Australia.  The  two  steamers  passed  very  close 
and  exchanged  news.  "  All  well !  "  ....  ''All  right!" 
....  In  about  fifteen  minutes  hardly  any  sign  of  the 
City  of  Sydney  could  be  discerned,  and  it  was  with 
great  reluctance  that  we  retired  to  our  state-rooms. 

Sunday,  Oct.  ist,  I  was  requested  to  hold  service  and 
preach,  but  as  I  was  somewhat  sea-sick,  I  did  neither. 
In  the  morning  we  passed  a  wild  and  uninhabited 
island  about  latitude  16°  36''  S.  and  longitude  175° 
17'  W.  We  passed  some  of  the  Fiji  Islands,  and 
late  in  the  evening  we  struck  the  i8oth  degree  of 
longitude.  It  is  in  this  moment  that  navigators  settle 
their  reckoning  with  earth  and  sun,  and  we  have  to  skip 
one  day,  that  is,  from  Monday,  Oct.  2d,  we  pass  to 
Wednesday,  the  4th,  suppressing  Tuesday,  the  3d.  It  is 
the  reverse  for  boats  coming  from  west  to  east.  They 
gain  one  day  when  they  reach  the  i8oth  degree  of 
longitude  ;  they  repeat  the  day  of  the  week  and  month. 
Many  of  our  passengers  could  not  understand  this,  and 
others  would  not  believe  it.  At  dinner-time  I  jocosely 
asked  the  first  officer,  who  had  charge  of  reckoning  the 
longitude,  latitude,  and  the  run  of  the   ship,  "  Mr.  N., 


I08  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

why  did  you  not  rather  skip  Friday  than  Tuesday  ? " 
The  officer  tried  to  give  an  explanation,  which  was  not 
considered  satisfactory,  but  the  Cathohcs,  who  were 
rather  numerous,  hiughed  heartily  at  my  joke. 

A  great  many  of  the  passengers  asked  me,  "  How 
can  this  be,  to  lose  a  day;  and  tlien,  why  just  at  this 
point  and  at  no  other?  "  The  ecjuator  is  divided  into  360 
degrees.  The  equator  is  again  divided  into  two  semi- 
circles, each  exactly  of  180  degrees — one  called  East, 
the  other  West.  Navigators  reckon  the  starting-point 
from  the  meridian  passing  through  the  astronomical  ob- 
servatory at  Greenwich,  England.  Now,  here  we  are 
180  degrees  west  of  Greenwich,  and  180  degrees  east  of 
the  same.  Reckoning  b(Hh  east  and  west,  we  have  the 
entire  circle;  or  we  are  12  hours  east  of  Greenwich 
and  12  hours  west  of  the  same.  Reckoning  both,  we 
have  24  hcuirs,  a  full  day,  which  must  be  skipped.  If 
we  continue  the  voyage  westward  to  Greenwich  we  lose 
nothing  more,  because  the  12  hours  liave  already  been 
reckoned  in  crossing  the  i8oth  degree  of  longitude. 
Traveling  westward,  besides  the  24  hours  per  day,  we 
have  some  minutes  besides,  which,  in  a  very  long  voy- 
age, amount  to  several  hours,  which  sr)metime  f-r  other 
must  be  deducted.  1  he  deduction  is  made  at  longi- 
tude i8o'\  whence  we  deduct  an  entire  tlay,  that-  is  reck- 
oning from  180''  I'..,  then  again  fr(M"n  1"  \V.  to  180"  W. 
The  reverse  in  going  eastward.  We  Iruh'  lose  some 
minutes  ever\'  d;i\-.  Thus,  if  from  long.  180'  we  go 
eastward,  ^\'hen  wa  reach  the  meridian  of  (Greenwich  we 
have  lost  t2  hours.  If  we  continue  still  eastward,  in 
reaching  the  l8oth  degree  of  longitude,  we  ha\'e  lost  full 
24  hours,  whicli,  reckoned  in  the  i8oth  degree  of  long. 
east,  leaves  to  our  cretlit  one  entire  day,  hence  the  gain- 
ing of  one  day. 

If  the  captain    of    the   steamer  of    this   line   reaches 


KAXDAIVA. 


109 


Kandawa  before  the  contract  time,  he  receives  from 
the  company,  I  think,  £i  per  each  hour  which  is  in  ad- 
vance of  the  fixed  time  ;  and  a  very  handsome  premium 
per  day,  if  he  reaches  the  place  one  day  before  the  contract 
time.  Our  captain  could  have  done  it  very  easily  by 
forcing  steam,  as  we  were  making  veiy  good  way,  but 
he  preferred  to  arrive  at  the  appointed  time,  rather  than 


to  earn  the  ])rcmium.  ICarly  Wednesday  morning,  ex- 
aclK'  at  the  tabulated  hour,  we  sighted  Kandawa  (or 
LakcDiba)  Island,  iu  the  eastern  group  of  this  very  ex- 
tensive archipelago. 

There  is  no  harbor,  no  wliarf,  and  no  pilot ;  but  the 
boat  stops  in  a  cove,  close  to  a  very  small  native  village. 
The  reason  why  the  steamer  for  S\'clne\-  calls  here,  is  in 


no  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPIIERKS. 

order  to  meet  the  other  boat  of  the  same  hne  which 
waits  here  for  the  arrival  of  that  from  San  Francisco. 
She  then  receives  the  mail,  freight,  and  passengers  for 
New  Zealand,  starting  immediately  for  Auckland.  The 
Australia  was  waiting  for  some  days.  The  City  of  Ncxu 
York  steered  close  to  her,  and  commenced  to  tranship 
the  New  Zealand  cargo  and  passengers.  A  I'ijian  came  in 
a  catamaran,"  climbed  the  steamer,  and  placed  himself 
at  the  top  of  the  gangway.  We  all  pressed  aft  to  have 
a  sight  of  him.  He  was  perfectly  naked,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  narrow  belt  fastened  at  the  loins.  I  lis 
color  was  black,  the  hair  of  a  black  yellow,  and  al- 
though approaching  to  wool,  it  was  harsh,  stiff,  and 
about  half  a  foot  long;  but  it  was  erect.  The  hair  is 
rendered  hideous,  stiff,  and  of  a  disgusting  color  by 
a  preparation  made  with  lime.  His  face  was  ferocious. 
He  held  in  his  hand  a  very  large  knife  approaching  the 
form  and  size  of  a  butcher-knife,  but  longer  and  more 
slender;  the  form  and  size  appeared  to  me  like  a  dagger 
used  in  the  middle  ages.  The  children  \\ere  afraid 
of  him.  I  heard  a  little  girl,  in  a  piteous  voice,  asking 
him,  "Will  you  eat  me?"  He  only  gave  a  wild  smile, 
I  took  another  little  girl  up  to  him  and  exclaimed : 
"  Take  this  one  and  make  a  good  supper  of  her  this 
evening."     She  ran  away  and  hid. 

The  Fiji  (or  F'ejce)  group,  number  from  two  to  three 
hundred  islands  with  coral  reefs,  and  arc  divided  by  some 
into  three  clusters  ;  by  others,  with  better  propriety,  into 
seven,  resting  on  volcanoes.  They  extend  between  lat- 
itude 15'  and  20'  south,  and  longitude  177'^  and  178° 
west.     They  were  first  seen  by   Tasman  in    1643,  and 

*  The  catamaran  of  the  Fijian  is  a  canoe  made  from  a  loi^,  and 
very  narrow.  To  this  are  fastened  lot^s  from  one  to  two  yards  apart, 
acc(;rding  to  the  siy,fc  (jf  the  canoe,  which  scarcely  touch  the  water, 
but  they  balance  the  canoe. 


KANDA  WA. 


II  I 


annexed  to  1-^ngland  in  1874;  but  now  they  are  officially 
declared  to  be  a  part  of  Australia,  and  attached  to  the 
New  South  Wales  Colony. 

On  board  the  steamer  at  Kandawa  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  meetin<7  Mr.  Thurston,  the  Auditor-General  at 


mmml 

mmmm 


KI.N(;    (IF     IHK    1-IJl     ISLANDS. 


I'iji,  and  who  was  fornierl}'  British  Consul  in  Fiji.  lie 
is  a  i^entlenian  of  hiLjh  education  and  learning,  and 
kindly  afforded  me  valuable  information  regarding  these 
islands  and  their  nati\cs.  'i'he  population  once  was 
dbout  two  hundred  thousand,  but  now  it  hardly  reaches 


112  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

one  hundred  thousand.  Many  thousands  were  carried 
off  by  measles,  brought  thither  by  some  of  the  native 
chiefs. 

A  native  officer  here  in  Kandawa  told  me :  "  We  will 
soon  perish  unless  these  missionaries  (the  Wcsleyan)  go 
away.  They  forbid  us  everything ;  we  can  not  play, 
dance,  sing,  or  do  anything  for  our  recreation.  We  can 
not  live  without  these  things.  We  do  not  want  this 
kind  of  missionaries.  Many  of  our  children  died  away, 
and  others  are  sickly  and  will  soon  die.  We  were  by 
far  better  before  these  missionaries  came  here."  It  is 
the  same  complaint  that  I  heard  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands  and  from  other  places  of  the  South  Pacific. 

There  are  about  two  thousand  whites,  mostly  resid- 
ing at  Levucka,  the  capital  (or  Ovalau),  an  island  at  the 
center  of  the  group,  eight  by  seven  miles,  in  front  of  a 
fine  harbor  and  the  coaling  place.  It  is  the  seat  of  the 
Governor  and  other  officials,  and  the  residence  of  the 
former  native  king,  Cakabau  or  TJiakanibau  or  Kakoni- 
bau.  The  area  is  seven  tliousand  square  miles,  of  which 
six  thousand  are  in  the  great  islands  of  Viti-Lcvn  and 
Vamia-Lcvii.  The  two  largest,  the  Great  Fiji  and  an- 
other, are  eighty-seven  miles  by  fifty-seven  miles,  and 
one  hundred  miles  by  twenty-five  miles,  rising  from 
four  thousand  to  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 
The  scenery  is  grand  and  rich.  The  climate,  although 
tropical,  is  moderate  and  fine.  Tlic  teniperature  ranges 
from  80^  to  85",  I"\'ilirenhcit.  The  islands  are  often 
hilly  and  fertile.  They  produce  an  abundance  of  wild 
lemons  and  a  s[)ccies  of  \-ery  large  orange  called  Poinolb  ; 
b}'  the  English,  named  Shadock,  from  Captain  Shadock, 
who  first  brought  it  from  the  h'.ast  Indies.  They  pro- 
duce also  bread-fruit,  banana,  plantain,  arrow-root,  su- 
gar, nutmeg,  capsicum,  a  little  tea  and  coffee,  excellent 
cotton,  raised  by  laborers  from  the  New  Hebrides,  to- 


LEVCrCKA. 


113 


bacco,  cocoanut-oil,  sea-slug,  tortoise,  pearl-shell,  and  an 
intoxicating  plant  called  cai^a,  from  which  the  native 
drink  is  brewed. 

A  number  of  natives,  of  different  ages,  and  of  both 
sexes,  approached    in    catamarans,  but  the}'  were  not 


Jiji  CI  Kiosnii-.s. 


allowed  to  come  on  board;  yet  they  amused  tlie  passen- 
gers, who  fhiiig  some  co])pcr  coins  into  tlu;  sea,  for 
which  the  nati\'es  ]^lunged  in,  adroith'  catching  the 
coin,   sometimes    even   before    the    mone_y    reached    the 


114 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


bottom.  The  men  jumped  from  the  catamarans  into 
the  water,  but  the  women  first  put  the  back  of  their 
heads  in,  and  threw  themselves  into  it.  They  were  very 
anxious  to  have  some  biscuit,  old  ragged  clothes,  shoes, 
etc.,  which  they  exchanged  for  shells  and  fruits,  h'or 
one  biscuit  they  gave  me  a  basket  of  wild-lemons  and 
two pojnolocs.  The  biscuits  were  devoured  at  once,  and 
the  clothes  put  on  immediately.  It  was  really  a  ludi- 
crous sight  to  see  a  native  putting  on  an  old  waistcoat, 
minus  pants  or  shirt ;  another  dressing  in  ragged  panta- 
loons or  coat,  without  shirt  or  any  other  covering.  Nor 
were  they  particular  as  to  toilet  or  fashion.  The  stat- 
ure of  the  Fijians  is  high.  They  are  cannibals,  very 
ferocious,  and  dreaded  by  their  neighbors.  The  natives, 
however,  consist  of  two  races;  one  of  fierce,  mixed 
Malay  blood;  the  other  soft  and  gentle,  like  the  .Sand- 
wich Islanders. 

The  captain  very  prudently  took  every  precaution  to 
prevent  passengers  from  going  on  shore.  Yet  several 
went,  and  among  them  m}'self.  On  shore  there  were 
some  houses,  or  large  huts,  like  those  of  the  Navigators 
Islands,  and  likewise  covered  with  brushes  and  leaves, 
the  south  side  being  open,  without  doors  or  windows. 
In  the  company  of  a  friend,  I  approached  one,  in  which 
there  were  men,  women,  and  children,  and  we  saw  an- 
other man,  armed  in  the  same  fashion  as  that  native 
officer  that  came  to  the  steamer.  We  refused  to  enter 
it.  Some  then  made  signs  to  us  to  go  with  them  into 
the  woods;  we  declined  that  invitation.  We  in- 
fornied  another  armed  man  that  we  were  desirous 
oi  beholding  the  nati\x\s  climbing  some  cocoanut- 
trees  that  were  adjacent.  Immetliatel)'  he  called  two 
natives,  who  brought  us  to  some  very  tall  cocoanut- 
trees,  which  they  climbed  with  speed  and  without  diffi- 
culty, pulling  some  nuts  which  they  cast  down.     They 


THE  FIJIAiXS.  1 1  5 

descended  in  the  same  easy  manner.  We  gave  them  a 
shilling  apiece,  and  told  them  to  put  the  nuts  into  the 
skiff,  and  having  given  another  shilling  to  the  armed 
native  (who  was  perhaps  some  officer),  we  made  our 
way  to  the  landing.  En  route  we  saw  the  cottage  of 
the  physician  and  of  another  English  officer,  kept  there 
by  the  Government.  They  were  both  absent.  These 
cottages  were  surrounded  by  a  veranda.  At  Leviicka 
there  is  a  Fiji  banking  company,  and  a  newspaper,  the 
Fiji  Times. 

The  New  Zealand  freight  having  been  all  transhipped, 
both  steamers  were  ready  to  start ;  the  Australia  for 
Auckland  (New  Zealand),  the  Xezv  York  for  Sydney 
(Australia).  I  had  the  choice  of  either  destination.  I 
decided  to  go  to  Sydney,  there  to  ascertain  the  time  of 
sailing  for  China  by  the  Torres  Straits.  These  steam- 
ers sail  ever)'  four  weeks.  In  Sydney  I  would  reckon 
how  much  time  I  could  spare  to  visit  the  colonics  of 
Australia,  and  it  would  be  comparatively  easy  to  reach 
New  Zealand.  As  I  intended  to  travel  through  India, 
I  wished  not  to  be  detained  there  during  the  hot  sea- 
son ;  so  I  decided  to  continue  the  voyage  to  S)Tlney  in 
the  same  boat,  the  Neiv  York.  My  friends  for  Aus- 
tralia were  much  gratified  that  I  had  concluded  to  ac- 
company them  to  Sydney.  Here  A\e  took  a  hearty 
farewell  from  those  who  were  going  to  New  Zealand  ; 
they  doing  the  same  by  us.  The  scene  was  truly  an 
exciting  one.  Both  steamers  started  together.  Who 
can  describe  the  wa\'ing  of  hands,  handkerchiefs,  hats, 
and  Hags?  .Acclamations  and  farewells  were  fix'ing  from 
boat  to  boat  ;  kisses  were  sent  on  the  wings  of  zeph\'rs  ; 
while  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  Kandaxau  were  ech- 
oing the  sounds  of  bugles,  horns,  and  trumpets  blown 
on  the  deck's  of  the  respective  vessels.  Add  to  this  the 
firing  of  guns,  the  dipping  of  the  American  Hags,  the 


ii6 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


large  number  of  catamarans  following  us,  and  the 
crowd  of  natives  lining  the  shore  of  the  island.  We 
steered  south-west,  rounding  many  high  and  dangerous 
coral  reefs,  on  which  were  sharks  of  gigantic  sizx  play- 
ing, and,  as  it  were,  basking  on  the  coral  reefs.     In  the 


NATIVE   POLICE — NEW   CALEDONIA. 


woods,  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  rising  smoke  here 
and  there  gave  evidence  that  the  natives  were  preparing 
for  supper. 

Our  route  now  lay  between    New  Caledonia,  where 


NEIV  CALEDONIA. 


117 


the  French  have  a  penal  settlement,  and  Norfolk  Island 
Wc  passed  at  a  safe  distance  from  New  Caledonia,  be- 
cause this  lari^e  island  is  rendered  dangerous  of  ap- 
proach by  formidable  reefs  extending  two  hundred  and 
sevx'nty  miles  beyond  its  shore.  The  tlanger  is  in- 
creased by  the  current  setting  directly  on  the  breakers. 
Captain  Cook,  who  discovered  it  in  his  secontl  voyage 
(1774),  remained  on  the  coast  for  a  full  week,  but  D'En- 
trecasteaux  was  the  first  who  sailed  completely  round 
this,  man}'  years  after.  The  island  has  a  chain  of 
mountains  through  it.  It  is  poor,  and  the  vegetation 
scanty,  although  many  of  the  tropical  trees  are  found 
on  it.  The  natives  are  miserable,  small,  thievish,  and 
cannibals.  They  eat  a  kind  of  spider  called  nookcc, 
which  forms  threads  so  large  as  to  offer  a  sensible  re- 
sistance before  breaking.  They  feed  also  on  stcatinc — ■ 
a  soft,  fri;ible,  greenish  earth,  containing  magnesia,  silex, 
and  iron,  just  like  the  Ottomacs  of  South  America, 
described  by  Humboldt.  They,  like  the  Australian 
natives,  are  armed  with  darts  and  clubs,  but  do  not  use 
the  bow.  In  Numea,  the  capital  of  New  Caledonia, 
there  is  a  large  number  of  Catholics,  and  a  fine  catlie- 
dral  in  course  of  erection.  Norfolk  Island  is  a  rich 
country,  with  very  luxuriant  vegetation  and  well  wa- 
tered. It  is  used  as  a  place  of  transportation  and  exile, 
as  was  once  Botany  J^a}'. 

Here  the  temperature  of  the  atmos])here  suddenly 
changed  ;  it  became  so  cool  that  we  A\ere  obliged  to 
don  hc-a\'ier  clothing.  The  sea  was  agitated,  although 
there  reigned  a  perfect  calm.  The  captain  said  that 
the  change  c>f  atmosphere  and  the  agitation  of  the 
sea  indicated  that  there  was  a  heavy  storm  ahead  of 
us,  and  that  we  were  at  the  tail  end  of  it.  In  re'alit\-, 
when  we  took  the  pihjt  on  board  near  Sydney,  we 
learned  that  there   had   been   a   great   cyclone   on  the 


I  l8  A    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

coast  of  Sydney,  causing  immense  destruction,  not  only 
on  the  seaboard,  but  in  the  city  and  colony.  The  full 
damage  had  not  yet  been  entirely  ascertained,  because 
the  cyclone  was  very  extensive.  Among  many  other 
ships  which  were  wrecked,  the  large  and  staunch  steam- 
ship Dandcnong,  full  of  passengers  from  Sydney  for  Mel- 
bourne, was  caught  in  this  cyclone  and  totally  lost.  A 
large  number  of  those  on  board  were  drowned.  We 
were  very  lucky  in  being  behind  this  cyclone  ;  otherwise, 
God  knows  what  would  have  become  of  us  !  ...  . 

I  was  somewhat  sea-sick,  and  lying  in  my  state-room, 
when  a  rapping  came  to  the  door.  '^  A  sick  call." 
''  Who  is  sick?"  "  The  stewardess  is  very  ill  and  wants 
you."  I  went  to  her  room  and  found  that  she  was 
trul}'  ill.  I  heard  her  confession,  but  did  not  }'et  give 
her  the  extreme  unction,  although  I  had  with  me  the 
holy  oil.  The  viaticum  I  could  not  give,  because  I  had 
not  the  Blessed  Eucharist.  I  had  all  things  necessary 
to  say  Mass.  There  was  no  other  priest  on  board.  I 
put  this  question  to  myself,  having  no  person  to  con- 
sult with  :  Can  I  say  Mass  in  order  to  give  the  viaticum 
to  this  dying  person  ?  Must  I  say  Mass  ?  I  had  a 
conference  with  the  doctor  of  the  boat,  who  informed 
me  that  unless  she  were  better  the  next  day  she  could 
not  live  two  days  longer.  Next  morning  she  was 
worse,  but  in  the  afternoon  there  was  a  change  for  the 
better.  Next  da\'  she  became  comfortable,  and  was 
well  enough  when  we  arrived  at  S}'dne}'. 

The  steamer  passed  close  to  Lord  Howe  Island.  It 
is  a  mountainous  small  land,  inhabited  onh'  by  twent}'- 
five  persons,  men,  Momen,  and  children.  The}-  very 
seldom  hear  an}thing  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  They 
have  no  intercourse  with  other  islands.  Lord  Howe 
Island  can  be  stv'led  the  St.  Helena  of  the  South 
Pacific,  except  that   there   is   no   communication  with 


HARBOR  OF  SYDNEY. 


119 


any  nation,  and  it   is  smaller.     It  is  only  by  accident 
that  ships  touch  there. 

Late  in  the  night  of  October  loth  we  saw  the  light 
at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  of  Sydney — one  of  the 
best  harbors  in  the  world.  At  two  o'clock  A.M.  of  the 
next  day  we  entered  /'  The  Heads."  Some  steerage 
passengers  called  my  attention  to  a  number  of  colossal 
sharks  on  both  sides  of  the  boat  accompanying  us  on 


■]'iiK  i;.\i' — snrrii  iikad,   svdnky. 


entering  the  harbor.  Although  it  was  night,  we  could 
see  them  plainl}'  by  the  lifted  phosphorescence  of  the 
sea.  We  entered  the  land-locked,  winding  harbor,  ex- 
tending fourteen  miles,  and  tleej)  enough  to  accommo- 
date all  the  navies  of  the  world.  It  is  surrounded  by 
man)'  inlets  and  wooded  hills.  The  cannon  was  llred 
twice.  The  AVrt'  York  proceeded  to  tlie  roadstead  and 
cast  anchor.  The  captain  ordered  the  lights  out,  and 
a  harbor-light   and    guard.     After   contemplating  with 


120  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

pleasure  the  splendid  night-scene  of  this  truly  grand 
harbor,  and  the  enchanting  scenery  of  the  surrounding 
hills  and  inlets  under  a  starry  sky  of  a  New  South 
Wales  calm  night,  we  retired  to  rest. 

In  the  morning,  the  Nciu  York  went  to  the  wharf. 
We  took  a  hearty  leave  of  the  good  and  obliging  oflfi- 
cers.  We  had  already  presented  to  the  captain  a  testi- 
monial for  his  gentlemanly  and  skillful  conduct,  signed 
by  all  the  passengers.  The  customs  officers  came  on 
board  to  inspect  our  baggage,  and  I  must  ^o  justice  to 
their  educated  manners.  What  a  contrast  compared 
with  the  bold  roughness  of  the  United  States  customs 
officers  !  Several  gentlemen  who  knew  me  only  by 
reputation,  came  on  board  to  welcome  me,  and  told 
mc  to  take  my  lodging  at  the  Arnott  House.  During 
the  night  I  experienced  a  very  severe  colic.  I  tried 
some  essence  of  ginger,  but  without  any  effect.  Next 
day  1  felt  worse,  but  I  was  relieved  by  taking  a  pill 
which  I  had  brought  with  me  from  America.  Other 
fellow-passengers  told  me  that  they,  more  or  less,  had 
also  suffered  from  other  indispositions,  which  must  un- 
doubtedly have  been  the  effect  of  the  change  of  climate 
and  food. 

My  first  visit  was  to  the  office  of  the  China  line  of 
steamers.  There  I  learned  that  the  boat  had  just  left  ; 
hence  1  was  to  ^\•ait  for  nearly  one  month  in  order  to 
sail  f(jr  China  via  Torres  Straits.  I  was  glad  of  it,  be- 
cause 1  would  have  time  to  visit  the  colonies  and  see 
just  as  much  as  1  wanted-  the  countr}',  the  museums, 
and  what  was  worthy  of  observing.  Australia  being  a 
new  countr\',  does  not  present  many  oljjects  of  art.  I 
took  my  passage  to  Hong-Kong.  l*'irst-class  passage 
cost  i,"45- 

I  intended  to  return  again  to  Sydnc}',  but  during  my 
short    stay  I    had    made    the    acquaintance    of  several 


SYDNEY. 


121 


Clergymen,  especially  Dr.  Forrest,  who  had  been  in 
Sydney  from  the  time  Botany  Bay  was  a  penal  colony, 
and  where  that  zealous  missionary  had  worked  for  many 
years ;  of  Dr.  Ot.  Barsanti,  who  was  one  of  the  first 
missionaries  who  converted  the  natives  of  New  Zea- 
land, and  who  now  resides  in  Sydney.  I  also  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  other  missionaries  who  had  been  in 
New  Guinea  (Papua).  From  these  I  picked  up  interest- 
ing information  concerning  the  natives,  the  language  of 
the  New  Zealanders,  Australians,  and  New  Guineans. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NEW  ZEALAND— TASMANIA — AUSTRALIA  IN  GENERAL. 

Tiip:rk  are  several  steamers  running  from  Sydney, 
and  from  Melbourne,  to  Auckland,  the  capital  of  North 
Island  (New Zealand).  The  run  occupies  about  five  days, 
although  some  boats  take  seven  days.  The  distance  is 
onl)'  1,200  miles.  New  Zealand  stands  midway  between 
Cape  Horn  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  ten  days'  steam 
from  Tahiti,  and  thirty  days  from  China,  and  it  is,  at  least 
the  southern  part,  just  the  antipode  of  Italy.  The 
Dutch  commander,  Abel  Jans  Tasman,  about  the  year 
1642,  discovered  this  countr\'  and  named  it  Nova 
Zealand,  after  Zealand  at  home.  However,  the  original 
discovery  is  due  to  the  Spaniards.  In  1769  Captain 
Cook  surveyed  the  islands  and  finally  took  possession 
of  them  in  the  name  of  Great  Britain.  About  the  )'ear 
1 8 14  the  first  regular  Kuropean  settlement  was  formed, 
and  in  1S40  it  was  raised  into  a  colony  separate  from 
New  South  Wales.  New  Zealand  consists  of  two  large 
islands — North  Island,  called  by  the  natives  Ksheinom- 
woi,  and  South  Island,  called  by  the  natives  To\'v-Pocn- 
nammu,  which  is  the  largest,  separated  by  Cook's  Strait, 
100  miles  long,  and  for  half  its  length  100  miles  broad  ; 
but  at  the  eastern  end,  opposite  Wellington,  twent)' 
miles  wide  onl\'.  New  Zealand  is  sometimes  described 
as  consisting  of  three  islands,  because  at  the  further 
corner  of  South  Island  there  is  a  small  (thirtl)  island,  called 
Stewart's  Island,  divided  from  the  main  land  b\"  i'"o\'eaux 

(122) 


NEW  ZEALAND. 


123 


Strait.  Then  South  Island  is  called  Middle  Island  ;  but 
inasmuch  as  Stewart's  Island  is  very  small  and  unim- 
portant and  sparsely  inhabited,  it  is  left  out  of  account, 
and  the  islands  are  styled  North  and  South  only.  The 
length  of  the  country  exceeds  1,000  miles,  and  the 
greatest  breadth  is  about  200  miles.  It  contains  80,- 
000,000  acres  of  land,  nearly  2,coo,ooo  more  than  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  together.  Much  of  the  land  be- 
longing to  the  northern  tribes  was  nominally  purchased, 
or  squatted,  by  a  New  Zealand  Company,  and  it  was 
the  cause  of  frequent  disputes  and  bloody  fights  be- 
tween the  natives  and  settlers. 

New*  Zealand  possesses  many  millions  of  acres  of  fine 
forests,  and  man}-  millions  of  acres  of  land  fit  for  agri- 
culture and  pasture,  hence  a  large  quantity  of  wool  is 
raised.  The  surface  is  mountainous,  but  generally  fertile 
and  well-watered,  even  durin^g  dry  weather.  The  South 
Island,  however,  is  not  so  rich  and  fertile  as  the  North. 
There  are  lofty,  steep  mountains,  with  rich  valleys  and 
lovely  plains.  New  Zealand  extends  from  34°  to  A^f" 
S.  latitude,  and  from  167°  to  179°  E.  longitude,  hence 
the  climate  is  temperate  and  bracing;  but  there  is  a 
difference  of  lo'-^  to  1 1""  of  latitude  between  the  extreme 
points  of  the  islands,  and  about  10°  in  the  average  tem- 
perature. After  the  Mauna  Roa — a  mountain  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands — the  highest  mountains  in  Australasia 
are  in  New  Zealand.  Mount  Egmont,  in  North  Island, 
is  a  volcanic  peak  8,270  feet  high  ;  b)-  others  it  is  said 
to  be  14,000  feet  in  height.  'I'his  is  certain,  that  a  chain 
running  through  South  Island  is  12,460  feet  high  at 
Mount  Cook,  near  Canterbury.  The  potato  (intro- 
duced by  C'apt.  Cook)  and  other  vegetables  are  culti- 
vated very  successful!)- ;  the  New  Zealand  flax  is  w  ell 
known.  1  here  is  coal,  cop])cr,  iron,  goitl,  timber,  and 
tile  famous  Kauri  pine,      it  is  rich  in  plants,  and  )ie!ds 


124 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


abundance  of  fish.  The  birds  are  few,  and  the  animals 
still  less,  except  the  rat,  lizard,  and  wild  pig.  A  gigantic 
bird,  the  inoa  (or  dinornis),  is  extinct.  It  is  well  watered, 
and  droughts  are  unknown.  There  is  no  fall  of  the  leaf, 
and  no  real  winter;  snow  is  rarely  seen,  and  it  lies 
only  a  day  or  two  in  the  South  Island  ;  but  glaciers  and 
perpetual  snow  may  be  witnessed  on  the  tops  of  the 
highest  mountains.  A  curious  hot  wind  blows  in  sum- 
mer along  the  eastern  coast,  which  melts  the  snows  on 
the  mountains,  and  fills  the  rivers.  It  comes  before 
rains.  The  settlers,  on  the  whole,  are  a  superior  class 
to  those  in  the  other  colonics.  In  general,  every  kind 
of  grain,  grass,  and  fruits  attains  a  full  development. 
Every  English  animal  is  thriving.  Even  English  fishes 
introduced  into  the  rivers  have  succeeded  wonderfully. 
New  Zealand  contains  some  of  the  finest  naval  and 
commercial  harbors  in  the  world,  but  the  best  of  them 
arc  on  the  eastern  coast.  Tempests  and  hca\-y  seas  arc 
most  frequent  on  the  coasts,  hence  large  ships  require 
skillful  handling  to  navigate  the  New  Zealand  sea.  The 
Pacific  Australian  line  from  San  Erancisco  dislike  to 
run  there  its  very  large  steamers  on  account  of  the 
great  danger  from  the  tempestuous  seas  on  the  coast. 

The  population  is  over  200,000,  including  5,000 
Chinese  and  46,000  natives — called  Maorics ;  the  latter 
nearly  all  in  the  North  Island.  The  ^laories  do  not  be- 
long to  that  degraded  stock  called  Papuas,  but  they  ap- 
pertain to  the  pure  ]\Ialay  race.  The  New  Zealanders 
are  superior  in  vigor  of  mind  and  in  forecast  to  all 
other  savages,  who  have  made  little  advance  in  the  arts 
of  civilized  life,  but  they  are  remarkable  for  the  ferocity 
with  which  they  engage  in  perpetual  wars  that  the  dif- 
ferent tribes  wage  with  each  other,  and  for  ha\-ing  been, 
and  many  are  yet  cannibals,  and  to  have  offered  human 
sacrifices  to  appease  the  evil  spirit,  in  order  to  prevent  his 


A'EIV  ZEALAND. 


125 


hurting  them.  Their  color  is  oHve-brown  and  they  have 
black  hair.  The  practice  of  tattooing  is  common  here  as 
well  as  in  many  of  the  South  Sea  Islands ;  to  denote  some- 
thing consecrated,  sacred,  forbidden  to  be  touched,  or 
set  aside  for  particular  uses  or  persons,  they  call  it  taboo. 
This  practice  is  very  common.  Thus  a  consecrated 
piece  of  ground  is  taboo ;  the  act  of  consecrating  it  is 
called  taboo,  and  the  persons  who  are  excluded  from  en- 
tering are  also  said  to  be  tabooed.  A  particular  article 
of  food  is  sometimes  tabooed  at  a  certain  season,  in  or- 
der to  preserve  it  against  a  season  of  scarcity,  etc.  The 
object  of  the  institution  seems  to  have  been  the  impo- 
sition of  certain  restraints  upon  a  rude  and  lawless  peo- 
ple. They  have  priests  and  sacrifices.  They  worship  a 
Supreme  Being  and  inferior  gods,  and  entertain  hopes 
of  sensual  indulgences  in  another  life.  The  worship  of 
their  gods  is  performed  in  the  morals,  which  are  build- 
ings for  the  dead.  Besides  the  shocking  custom  of  eat- 
ing human  flesh,  and  offering  human  sacrifices,  they 
have  a  strong  propensity  to  steal,  and  give  up  their 
wives  and  daughters  to  the  Europeans  without  restraint. 
They  seem  to  be  good-natured,  sociable,  gentle,  happy, 
and  gay.  They  live  in  villages  ;  the  chiefs  are  hcrcdita- 
ries,  but  their  civil  union  is  a  sort  of  feudal  system. 
They  are  diminishing  in  number  very  fast,  and  it  is  said 
that  they  are  likely  to  die  out  in  twenty  or  thirty  years, 
notwithstanding  the  labors  and  zeal  of  the  missionaries. 
They  descend  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  natives.  They 
know  and  remember  by  tradition,  the  first  natives  that 
came  from  those  islands.  They  remember  their  names, 
the  names  of  the  canoes  in  which  they  sailed,  the  names 
of  the  shores  where  they  landed  in  New  Zealantl,  and 
the  places  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  from  whence  they 
came.  Their  language  is  radically  the  same  with  that 
spoken  in  the  Sandwich  group,  in  Otaheitc,  and  many 


126  A    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

other  islands  of  t'.ic  South  Sea,  and  of  the  North 
American  natives.  Its  principal  characteristic  is  the 
simplicity  of  its  grammatical  forms  ;  it  has  no  distinction 
of  gender;  declensions  are  affected  by  affixes  and  suf- 
fixes; superlatives  are  made  by  reduplication,  etc. 

Auckland,  a  city  of  20,500  inhabitants,  was  formerly 
the  capital  of  this  colony.  It  is  the  largest  town  and 
mostly  built  of  wood  ;  however,  it  has  some  fine  build- 
ings, and  a  fine  Catholic  cathedral.  It  is  lighted  with 
gas,  and  it  has  300  miles  of  railroad.  It  stands  on  a 
neck  of  land  between  two  splendid  harbors  in  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  North  Island.  The  present 
capital  is  Wellington,  a  city  of  io,000  inhabitants.  On 
Port  Nicholson  is  Cook's  Strait,  320  miles  from  Auck- 
land b)'  sea,  440  miles  by  west  coast,  and  620  miles  by 
east  coast.  It  has  a  fine  museum,  lighted  by  gas,  and 
it  has  elegant  buildings.  New  Zealand  has  got  several 
banks.  Wellington  was  the  first  harbor  touched  by  the 
Panama  steamers,  while  they  were  running.  The  Pan- 
ama Line  was  abandoned,  because  it  ditl  not  jxiv,  and 
its  route,  being  almost  entirel}'  under  the  tropics,  was 
inconvenient  to  passengers.  New  Zealand  has  three 
dioceses:  two  in  North  Island,  Auckland,  and  Wel- 
lington; one  in  Dunedin,  South  Island.  There  are  in 
all  about  fifty-five  priests  ;  churche-;  and  chai) els  about 
eighty;  and  the  Catholic  population  from  fort}'  t  >  fifty 
thousand.  These  bishf)ps  are  subject  directl)'  to  the 
Holy  See. 

The  Colony  of  Tasmania,  former!}'  called  /  \ii!i  Diiinan's 
Land,  after  the  then  Governor  of  the  Moluccas,  is  named 
from  its  Dutch  disco\'erer.  Captain  Tasman,  1642. 
Lieutenant  Bouen,  in  1S03,  commenced  a  convict  settle- 
ment from  Sydney  at  Ilobart  Town,  now  the  capital  of 
Tasmania,  with  20.000  inhabitants,  but  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  the  island  is   104,200,  all   Europeans,  the  na- 


HOB  ART  TOWN.  127 

tives  having  all  disappeared  since  the  English  com- 
menced to  settle  there.  The  last  native  died  while  I 
was  in  Australia.  The  natives  did  not  belong  to  the 
noble  family  of  the  New  Zealanders,  but  to  that  de- 
graded race  of  the  Papuas.  The  countr)'  is  170  miles 
long  by  160  broad,  with  a  surface  of  24,000  square 
miles,  just  the  size  of  Ireland.  The  climate  is  the  best 
in  x\ustralia.  neither  too  cold  nor  too  warm.  Snow 
rarely  falls  at  llobart  Town.  Rain  is  moderate,  the  sky 
is  clear  and  bright ;  the  temperature  is  bracing  and  ex- 
tremel}-  fa\'orab!e  to  luu'opean  constitutions.  Invalids 
from  India  and  Australia  speedily  recover  their  health 
in  Tasmania.  On  the  north  coast  there  is  a  settlement 
composed  of  retired  officers  and  other  gentlemen  from 
India.  There  is  a  large  tract  of  fine  land  reserved  for 
officers  disposed  to  settle  here,  and  which  may  be  pur- 
chased at  moderate  prices.  As  many  men  go  sailing 
and  elsewhere,  so  there  is  a  large  number  of  women  in 
this  island,  and  single  men  desirous  to  marry,  go  to 
Tasmania,  in  the  certainty  of  finding  a  good  wife. 

The  island  is,  upon  the  whole,  mountainous,  with 
some  peaks  of  considerable  elevation,  and  consequently 
abounds  in  streams.  Many  fine  tracts  of  land  are  found 
on  the  very  borders  of  tlie  sea,  and  in  the  interior,  the 
most  of  the  soil  is  adapted  to  all  kinds  of  agriculture. 
The  coast  is  broken  by  deep  ba}'s  and  inlets,  with  good 
harbors,  and  dotted  by  fifty-five  islands,  chiefly  in  Bass' 
Straits.  The  settlements  have  been  infested  for  many 
years  by  banditti  composed  of  runaway  convicts  ;  and 
although  transportation  was  aboHshed  in  i(S52,  some 
hundred  convicts  yet  remain.  1  fobart  Town,  or  I  fo- 
barton,  the  capital,  is  beautifully  situated  <.)W  tlic  slopes 
of  the  Derwent  River,  overlooking  the  harbor,  where 
vessels  of  any  tonnage  can  be  admitted  with  securit)'. 
This  city  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  facing  Mel- 


128  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

bourne,  from  which  it  is  distant  only  420  miles  and  650 
from  Sydney.  There  are  several  banks.  There  is  one 
bishop  at  Hobarton,  and  about  eighteen  priests  in  the 
whole  island.  There  is  almost  a  perfect  resemblance 
between  the  animals  and  vegetables  found  here  and 
Australia  {Nczu  Holland).  In  the  animals  in  particular, 
there  is  scarcely  any  variation.  The  native  dog,  how- 
ever, is  unknown  here  ;  but  there  is  an  animal  of  the 
panther  tribe  in  its  stead,  which,  though  not  found  in 
such  numbers  as  the  native  dog  is  in  Australia,  com- 
mits dreadful  havoc  among  the  flocks.  The  blue  gum- 
tree  grows  300  feet  high  and  30  feet  in  diameter.  Oats 
grow  seven  feet  high.  Wheat,  barley,  potatoes,  hay,  wool, 
coal,  and  iron  are  in  abundance.  There  is  magnificent 
construction  timber.  The  Huoii  pine  is  exxcllently 
adapted  for  furniture  and  ship-building. 

In  crossing  the  Straits  of  Bass  for  Melbourne,  we 
observed  many  seals  basking  in  the  sun  on  several  wild, 
small  islands.  The  captain  of  the  "-Xq^-mwcx  Alcssandra 
gave  a  succession  of  steam  whistles  to  enable  us  to  wit- 
ness the  seals  running  and  plunging  into  the  sea.  The 
seals  soon  disappeared,  and  we  turned  our  attention  to 
the  gums  and  rocky  coasts  of  South  Australia.  The  sea 
on  these  straits,  and  generally  on  King  George's  Sound, 
is  always  very  rough  till  Port  Phillip  is  reached — ■ 
named  after  Hon.  ]\Ir.  Phillip,  first  Governor  of  S}'dney. 
It  was  a  very  cold  morning  when  we  struck  the  landing. 
Hobson's  Bay,  to  which  the  mails  come,  is  on  the  west 
side  of  Port  Phillip.  By  rail  we  went  to  Melbourne, 
which  is  built  at  the  very  head  of  this  ba}-,  and  extends 
for  two  miles  along  the  Yarra-Yarra,"'-  a  very  small 
river.  I  drove  directly  to  ^Ir.  ]\Icnsi's  Hotel,  the  best 
hotel  in  Australia.     ]\Ir.  ^lensi  was  a  fellow-passenger 


*  Yarra  means  "  mahogany." 


AUSTRALIA. 


129 


in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  I  had  promised   to  stay 
with  him  during  my  visit  to  Melbourne. 

AustraHa  is  the  largest  of  a  group  of  islands  to  the 
south  of  Asia,  collectively  named  Australasia,  i.  c, 
Southern  Asia.  It  lies  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Ocean, 
between  10°  45^  and  28°  45''  south  lat.,  and  i  \2°  20'  and 
153^  30'  east  long.  But  Australia  is  a  word  of  indefinite 
signification.  Some  for  Australia  understand  this  large 
island,  once  called  Xciv  Holland,  which  is  considered  a 
continent.  In  popular  use,  Australia  means  not  only 
the  settlements  in  this  great  continental  island,  but  all 
the  colonies  in  this  part  of  the  world,  including  Tas- 
mania and  New  Zealand.  Geographers,  especially  En- 
glish and  German,  made  two  divisions  of  these  islands 
south  of  Asia:  Y'wst,  Australasia ;  second,  Polynesia, 
lying  north  of  Australasia,  and  east  of  the  Philippines. 
This  forms  the  fifth  dix'ision  of  the  globe,  at  first  called 
SoiLtJicrji  India,  and  on  account  of  the  multitude  of 
islands  of  which  it  consists,  Polynesia,  or  Island  World. 
Magellan,  who  first  undertook  a  voyage  round  the 
world,  after  leaving  the  Portuguese  Monarch,  had  prom- 
ised the  Spanish  King,  into  whose  service  he  entered, 
that  he  would  arrive  at  the  Moluccas  by  sailing  west- 
ward. On  this  voyage  he  discovered,  March  6,  1521, 
the  Ladrones,  or  Mariana  Islands,  a  group  which  con- 
stitutes a  part  of  Australia,  thus  opening  the  way  to 
subsequent  explorations.  Spanish  navigators  continued 
to  make  discoveries  in  this  part  of  the  world.  Alvaro 
de  Mcndana,  in  the  last  part  of  the  sixteenth  ccntur\', 
discovered  the  Solomon  and  the  Marquesas  groups,  and 
passed  through  the  Society  and  h^iendly  Islands  with- 
out so  much  ;  s  seeing  them.  I'ernandcz  dc  Ouiros, 
a  companion  of  AK^aro  in  his  third  vo\-agc,  took  a  more 
southerly  direction,  and  hit  uiK)n  most  of  the  islands 
of  the  South  Sea,  especially  the  Society  Islands  and 
6* 


130  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  Terra  del  Espiritu  Santo,  and  gave  the  name  of 
Australia  to  this  part  of  the  world.  It  took  three  hun- 
dred years  to  discover  all  the  islands  which  pass  under 
the  name  of  Australia.  There  are  doubtless  many  isl- 
ands still  in  these  seas  which  no  European  has  seen,  and 
of  those  known,  only  the  coasts  have  yet  been  explored. 
In  our  voyage  near  the  equator  we  passed  an  island 
never  marked  on  the  map  ;  the  captain  determined  its 
location  and  put  it  on  the  chart. 

The  South  Sea  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  between  the 
eastern  shore  of  Asia  and  the  western  shore  of  Amer- 
ica, contain  all  the  islands  of  Australia.  These  occupy 
a  space  of  130°  in  length  and  85°  in  breadth,  as  they  ex- 
tend from  50°  south  to  35^  north  latitude,  and  from  95^ 
west  to  230^  east  longitude.  The  islands  may  be  re- 
garded as  continuous  chains  of  mountains  which  rise 
from  the  sea,  and  running  in  a  direction  from  north  to 
south-east,  in  a  double  row,  like  hills  and  promontories, 
surround  the  so-called  Australian  continent.  The  line 
nearest  to  it  begins  with  New  Guinea  and  ends  with 
New  Zealand  ;  the  second  line  commences  at  the  La- 
drones  and  passes  on  to  the  Navigators'  and  Friendly 
Islands,  whence  it  takes  an  easterly  direction.  The 
Sandwich  Islands  are  wholly  separated  from  these  al- 
most continuous  rows  of  islands.  Several  of  the  latter 
are  of  volcanic  origin  ;  others  are  raised  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea  by  successive  layers  of  coral,  or  carried 
to  their  present  height,  by  accumulation  of  the  same 
substance  on  the  original  rocks  at  the  bottom  of  the 
deep.  The  coral  formation  constitutes  reefs  extending 
to  a  great  distance,  so  that  it  is  dangerous  to  approach 
them. 

But  by  the  name  of  Australia  now  is  commonly  under- 
stood that  large  island,  or  continent,  formerly  known  un- 
der  the  name  of  Nciv  Holland,  and  wrongfully  claimed 


AUSTRALIA.  j^I 

to  have  been  first  discovered  by  the  Dutch.  Probably 
the  Chinese  were  the  original  pioneers ;  for  in  remote 
times  they  annually  visited,  as  they  indeed  do  now,  the 
northern  coast  to  fish  for  the  "  trcpaiiy,''  the  sca-sIug;  a 
nutritive  edible  which  exists  there  in  abundance.  This 
^land,  after  having  been  sighted  by  the  Portuguese,  was 
visited  by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  channel  that  separates 
it  from  New  Guinea,  navigated  by  Torres,  now  bearing 
his  name,  ''Torres  Straits^  It  was  only  in  the  seven- 
teenth centur\'  that  the  Dutch  commenced  to  explore 
this  large  island  ;  yet  they  were  the  first  to  make  it 
known  to  Europeans.  In  1623  Jans  Casterns,  a  Dutch 
navigator,  explored  tliat  part  of  the  coast  named  Arii- 
htun.  In  1616  b\'  Dirk  Hartog,  or  Haticks.  In  1697 
and  1 701  a  plate  with  an  inscription,  found  at  Shark's 
Bay,  mentions  thiit  Hartog  left  there  the  27th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1 61 6.  Soon  after  Lecuwin,  Nyts,  and  De  Witt,  all 
Dutch,  explored  other  parts  of  the  coast,  which  bear 
their  names.  In  1770  Captain  Cook  discovered  the  east 
coast  about  Botany  Bay  and  nimed  it  Xc:o  South 
Jl'a/cs.  luiglish  and  French  navigators,  Entrecasteaux, 
Grant,  La  Peyrouse,  Baudin,  and  others,  from  time  to 
time  exerted  themselves  to  add  to  our  knowledge  of 
Australia. 

Mr.  I-'.vans  in  I  (Si  3  succeeded  in  finding  a  pass  in  the 
insurmountable  Blue  Hills  which  presented  so  formida- 
ble a  barrier  against  any  further  penetration  into  the 
heart  of  this  land,  and  it  was  surmised  that  in  the  inte- 
rior there  existed  a  large  lake  into  which  the  rivers 
tlowed.  Recent  investigations  pro\-e  that  the  interior 
of  vVustralia  is  nothing  but  a  bare,  barren,  ston\'  descrl, 
totall)'  unfit  for  man  or  beast.  A  more  or  less  broken 
chain  oi  mountains  extends  from  Si)eneer's  (iulf,  round 
the  south  coast,  all  along  the  eastern  coast,  i-ouiul  the 
northern  coast,  nearly  to  Limming's  Hight.     The  coun- 


132  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

try  exhibits  less  hill  and  dale,  with  less  compact  vegeta- 
tion than  in  most  other  parts  of  the  world.  No  dense 
forest  exists ;  the  herbage  is  generally  thin  ;  the  grass, 
although  highly  nutritious,  grows  in  patches,  and  it  is 
by  far  inferior  to  the  rich  vegetation  of  the  islands  of 
Australia.  Except  the  Murray  River,  there  is  a  re- 
markable want  of  large  streams,  though  the  islands  in" 
general  are  not  deficient  in  water;  the  water-courses 
are  very  low  in  summer  and  frequently  dried  up.  As 
Australia  lies  partly  in  the  southern  temperate  zone, 
and  partly  in  the  torrid,  so  the  climate  in  some  parts  is 
warm,  though  the  heat  is  generally  less  oppressive  than 
in  the  same  latitudes  in  Asia  and  Africa ;  in  other  parts 
it  is  temperate,  mild,  and  healthy.  Yet  in  the  North, 
as  for  instance  in  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  it  is  un- 
healthy. 

In  Australia  almost  everything  in  nature  is  the  re- 
verse of  what  it  is  in  Europe.  When  in  Europe  it  is 
day,  here  it  is  night ;  and  when  it  is  summer  there,  here 
it  is  winter.  Here  the  compass  points  to  the  south  ;  the 
sun  travels  along  the  northern  heavens.  The  barome- 
ter rises  with  a  southerly  and  falls  with  a  northerly 
wind.  The  animals  are  disproportionate!}'  large  in  their 
lower  extremities,  and  carry  their  young  in  a  pouch  ; 
the  swans  are  black;  the  owls  screech  and  hoot  only  in 
the  daytime  ;  and  the  cuckoo's  song  is  heard  but  after 
nightfall.  The  valleys  are  cool,  the  mountain  tops  are 
warm  ;  the  north  winds  are  hot,  the  south  winds  are 
cold,  the  cast  winds  are  healthy.  The  bees  are  without 
sting;  cherries  grow  with  the  stone  outside.  Most  of 
the  trees  are  without  shade,  and  shed  their  bark  instead 
of  their  leaves  ;  some,  indeed,  are  without  leaves  ;  in 
others  the  leaves  are  vx'rtical.  The  productions  in  part 
are  the  same  with  those  of  other  countries  of  the  same 
latitude.     There  are  birds  without  wings,  having  hair 


AUSTRALIA. 


133 


instead  of  feathers ;  quadrupeds  with  the  beaks  of 
birds ;  white  eagles.  One  of  Lhe  birds  has  a  broom  in 
its  mouth.  The  ornithorynchus,  or  platypus,  perhaps 
the  most  singular  animal  in  the  world,  to  which  nature 
has  given  a  body  in  the  shape  and  size  of  an  otter,  with 
the  head,  or  at  least  the  beak,  resembling  that  of  a  duck. 
Flying-squirrels,  the  dasyure,  the  dingo  (or  Australian 
Dog),  several  species  of  opossum ;  the  kangaroo,  of 
which  the  forester  is  the  largest,  standing  six  feet  high 
and  weighing  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  forty 
pounds  ;  the  others  dwindle  down  to  the  size  of  a  sheep, 
a  cat,  and  a  mouse  ;  the  wombat,  and  others.  There 
are  no  dangerous  animals  in  Australia,  except  two  vari- 
eties of  the  snake  family.  The  dingo  and  the  dasyrus, 
or  devil,  are  dangerous  only  to  sheep,  of  which  there 
are  about  forty-two  millions  in  the  colonies ;  and  in 
1872  $11,750,000  worth  of  wool  was  exported.  The 
only  very  dangerous  animal  is  the  death-adder,  whose 
poison  is  very  deadly,  and  those  who  are  bitten  by  it 
can  only  be  saved  by  immediate  applications  of  a  reme- 
dial nature.  The  wound  should  be  sucked  again  and 
again,  and  brandy,  gin,'  or  other  stimulants  given  till 
the  patient  is  made  thoroughly  drunk,  which  will  most 
likely  bring  about  a  beneficial  reaction  against  the  poi- 
son and  save  his  life.  Another  remedy  is  the  injection 
of  ammonia  (spirits  of  hartshorn),  a  discovery  due  to 
Professor  Ilalford,  of  Melbourne.  The  plumage  of  the 
birds  is  beautiful ;  their  notes  are  harsh  and  strange. 
There  are  several  kinds  of  parrots  and  birds  of  paradise ; 
the  cassowary,  which  weighs  seventy  pounds,  antl  sur- 
passes the  Mast  Indian  birds  in  size  and  the  beauty  of 
its  plumage,  etc.  The  coasts  arc  well  stocl<ed  with  ilsli, 
of  \\-liich  there  are  several  kinds  peculiar  to  iheni.  The 
variety  of  insects  and  shell-fish  is  very  great ;  yet  I 
found  the  flavor  of  the  oysters  far  inferior  t(j  llie  lus- 


134 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


cious  American  bivalves.  They  tasted  so  brassy  that  1 
refused  to  eat  more  than  two  or  three.  The  richness 
of  the  vegetable  kingdom  is  still  greater.  In  this  island 
alone  more  than  one  thousand  new  plants  have  been 
discovered.  The  smaller  islands  are  still  richer  than 
this  island  in  esculent  plants.  Many  of  the  beautiful 
flowers  are  without  smell.  The  eucalyptus  trees  attain 
a  height  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  and  a  circum- 
ference of  thirty  feet ;  the  cajaputi,  gum-tree,  bread- 
fruit, orange,  lemon  trees,  etc. 

In  this  large  island  there  are  five  colonies:  New 
South  Wales  (capital,  Sydney)  on  the  south-east  side; 
first  settled  in  1788.  Victoria  ^capital,  Melbourne)  at 
the  south-east  corner;  first  settled,  1835.  Queensland 
(capital,  Brisbane")  on  the  north-east;  first  settled,  1859. 
South  Australia  (capital,  Adelaide)  on  the  south  and 
middle;  first  settled,  1836.  West  Australia  (capital, 
Perth)  first  settled,  1829.  The  colon\-  of  XortJi  Aus- 
tralia^ on  the  west  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  hav- 
ing Victoria  for  its  capital,  at  the  bottom  of  Port  Es- 
sington,  was  given  up,  because  ]\}rt  lissingto)i  was  un- 
healthy, the  country  being  barren  and  the  \-egetation 
poor.  A  settlement  has  been  commenced  at  Biirkctoii, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  gulf,  and  another  at  Port  Dariuin, 
opposite  Melville  Island,  in  the  Timor  Sea,  where  the 
submarine  cable  from  Batavia  has  a  landing  ;  but  I  be- 
lieve these  also  to  be  failures,  on  account  of  the  cli- 
mate, which  is  unhealthy  and  subject  to  fe\ers,  and  in 
addition  the  land  is  barren. 

The  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  island  are  the  low- 
est in  the  scale  of  humanit}'  ;  they  have  projecting  lips 
and  woolly  hair,  like  all  other  negroes,  from  whom  they 
are  distinguished  b}-  \-er\'  thin,  lean  arms  and  legs. 
They  have  very  disgusting  and  ape-like  features,  live  in 
a    savage    state,    without    laws    and    without    religion. 


THE  ABORIGINES. 


135 


Their  complexion  is  a  brownish  black ;  the  men  have 
high  check-bones  and  are  of  masculine  build  ;  the 
women  are  slimly  built  and  of  diminutive  stature. 
Both  sexes  scarify  their  bodies,  anoint  themselves  with 
oil,  and  frequently  wear  rings  or  ornaments  in  their 
noses,  which  they  look  upon  as  a  charm  against  evil. 
Their  great  mouths  and  thick,  projecting  lips  jut  out 
somewhat  like  snouts,  and  their  little  flat  noses  are  lost 
behind  them.  Their  deep-sunk  e}'es  betray  a  rude  and 
malicious  spirit,  and  sometimes,  though  rarely,  a  stupid 
good -humor.  They  have  no  settled  habitations,  but 
roam  in  tribes  from  place  to  place  in  quest  of  food, 
erecting  miamis,  or  huts,  formed  of  fresh -plucked 
boughs  of  trees  and  bark,  a  few  feet  high,  before  each 
of  which  is  seen  the  spear  of  the  owner  planted  erect  in 
the  ground.  They  are  naked  ;  few  wear  some  skins  of 
animals ;  and  the  majority  are  cannibals,  live  on  fish  or 
.the  fruits  of  trees,  opossums,  kangaroos,  emus,  birds, 
reptiles,  maggots,  beetles,  ants,  gum  grubs,  animals 
that  have  died  a  natural  death,  whether  cats,  dogs,  old 
horses,  etc.,  and  devour  everything  almost  raw.  They 
hardly  pull  the  feathers  from  birds  before  they  consume 
them.  Their  principal  weapons  are  the  spear,  the  zvaddy, 
or  club,  the  boomerang, '•■•■  and,  since  the  arrival  of  the 
white  man,  the  axe,  or  common  chopper,  and  small 
crowbar.      They    believe    in    the    existence   of   an    evil 

*  Boomerant;  is  a  very  sinj^ular  missile  weapon,  made  of  hard  wood, 
usually  from  twenty  to  thirty  inches  in  lenj^th,  from  two  to  three 
inches  wide,  and  half  or  three-ciuarters  of  an  inch  thick.  It  is  curved 
or  lient  in  the  middle  at  an  an^le  of  from  too  to  140  .  When  thrown 
from  the  hand  with  a  (juick  rotary  motion,  it  describes  very  remark- 
able curves,  according  to  the  sliape  of  the  instrument  and  the  manner 
of  throwinti;  it,  often  movin^r  nearly  horizontally  a  \o\\\r  distance,  then 
curvin>(  upward  to  a  considerable  heijrht,  and  fmally  takint(  a  retro- 
grade direction,  scj  as  to  fall  near  the  place  from  which  it  was  thrown, 
or  very  far  in  the  rear  of  it. 


136  A    TOUR  lA'  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

spirit,  which  they  call  Dibbie-Dibblc,  whom  they  propi- 
tiate by  offerings.  These  miserable  creatures  have  con- 
tinually and  obstinately  resisted  the  efforts  and  zeal  of 
missionaries  to  Christianize  them  and  ameliorate  -their 
wretched  and  savage  condition.  After  many  sacrifices,  la- 
bors, privations,  and  expense,  missionaries  were  obliged 
to  give  them  up,  and  it  was  verified  of  them  in  the 
prophecy  of  Jeremias  (chap,  li.,  v.  9) :  "  We  would  have 
cured  Babylon,  but  she  is  not  healed  ;  let  us  forsake 
her."  Some  priests,  who  had  devoted  themselves  to 
the  conversion  of  these  stubborn  heathens,  after  having 
built  chapels  for  them  in  the  wilderness,  and  after  many 
years  of  patience  and  suffering,  almost  heart-broken, 
abandoned  the  chapels  and  turned  their  labors  to  some 
other  field.  Some  Protestant  missionaries  carried  one 
of  these  natives  to  England  and  educated  him  for  a 
minister,  in  order  that  on  his  return  to  Australia  he 
should  teach  his  countrymen.  After  being  educated, 
at  least  as  far  as  he  was  capable  of  being  educated,  he 
returned  dressed  as  a  gentleman  and  loaded  with  Bibles 
and  religious  tracts.  He  went  among  his  fellow  natives, 
who  gazed  at  him  with  great  admiration.  He  not  only 
distributed  the  Bibles  and  tracts,  but  c\-cn  his  own  gar- 
ments; giving  his  hat  to  one,  to  another  his  coat,  to 
another  his  pantaloons,  to  another  a  boot,  etc.,  and  he 
remained  only  with  the  shirt  and  one  boot  ;  then  he 
joined  them  in  fishing,  and  that  was  the  end  of  the 
mission.  Another  Protestant  missionary  tried  \'cry 
hard  to  convert  the  natives  by  coaxing  them  with  rum. 
The  trial  proved  very  successful.  Kncouragetl  by  tlic 
result  of  this  happy  experiment,  he  built  a  small  chajTel, 
which  was  crowded  every  Sunday,  as  he  presented  a 
glass  of  rum  to  every  one  present  before  pra\'er.  After 
a  little  he  wished  to  try  another  experiment,  that  is,  to 
have  prayers  without  rum.     The  first  Sunday  of  the 


MISSIONARY  WORK. 


137 


trial,  when  the  natives  expected  the  rum,  the  missionary 
announced  that  the  prayer  was  to  be  without  rum  ;  they 
repHed,  "  No  rum,  no  prayer,"*  and  all  left  at  once,  and 
the  mission  came  to  an  end. 


*  The  custom  of  carrying  rum  by  some  Protestant  missionaries  is 
continued  to  these  days.  We  quote  the  Boston  Herald  (Jan.  8,  1879)  : 
"  Eight  hundred  thousand  gallons  of  rum  and  only  one  missionary  on 
a  ship  bound  to  Africa.  The  proportion  of  missionary  seems  small, 
but  perhaps  the  rum  is  watered,  and  at  any  rate  it  is  probable  that  the 
missionary  will  last  the  longer."  The  rum  must  be  for  trading  with 
the  natives.  The  same  is  done  by  the  missionary  vessels  in  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  as,  for  instance,  the  missionary  ship  yohn  Williams  sent 
from  England  every  year  to  Australia,  and  aided  by  New  South  Wales 
colony. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

VICTORIA — SOUTH    AUSTRALIA — WEST   AUSTRALIA — ,NK\V    SOUTH  \VALp:S 
— QUF.KXSLAND. 

The  colony  of  Victoria  is  located  in  the  best  part  of 
this  island,  and  it  was  with  justice  named  Australia  he- 
lix. It  is  separated  from  Xew  South  Wales  by  the 
Murray  River,  which  rises  in  the  Australian  Alps;  and 
after  flowing  along  the  north  boundary  falls  into  the 
sea  in  the  colony  of  South  Australia.  This  stream  is 
navigable  for  upwards  of  1,800  miles,  and  receives  all 
the  inland  rivers,  with  the  exception  of  ^"arra-^'arra, 
Glcnclg,  and  a  few  minor  ones,  which  fall  into  the  sea. 
The  bed  of  a  dried-up  rixer  is  called  a  creek  in  Aus- 
tralia. The  Australian  Alps,  on  the  east  coast,  are  the 
principal  mountains,  the  W'arragong  being  6,500  feet 
high.  Near  this  is  the  highest  peak  in  Australia,  Mount 
Hotham,  7,500  feet  ab(j\e  the  sea.  The  climate  is 
beautiful  and  health)-,  ne\er  below  freezing  in  the  win- 
ter, and  cool  in  summer,  except  when  the  hot  wind 
blows.  71ie  clear  sk\'  and  pure  air  produce  a  bucjyant 
effect  on  the  spirits.  The  chief  harbors  of  X'ictoria  are 
Melbourne  and  Geelong,  in  the  ba}'  of  Port  I'hilip  in- 
side the  Heads.  Near  (ieelong  is  the  great  salt  lake  of 
Korangam}'te,  eight)'  miles  round.  The  population  in 
1873  was  790,500.  /\bout  40.000  are  Chinamen,  who 
form  a  colony  of  their  own  here.  The  natix'es  ha\e  en- 
tirely disappeared  from  this  colony.  The  productions  are 
wool,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  wine,  cotton,  flax,  sili^-,  arrow 
(138) 


THE  ''WELCOME  NUGGET."  13^ 

root,  tobacco,  fruits  of  all  kinds  ;  horses,  cattle,  sheep  ; 
iron,  tin,  copper,  coal,  and  gold  which  was  discovered 
in  185 1  ;  since  which  the  average  production  per  annum 
is  valued  at  eight  and  a  half  millions  sterling.  One-third 
of  the  Victoria  rocks  are  gold-bearing.  There  are  gold- 
fields  in  Ballarat,  Bendigo,  Sandhurst,  etc.,  and  I  can 
say  that  all  the  gold-fields  are  exhausted,  and  gold  is  ob- 
tained only  by  mining.  The  "Welcome  Nugget,"  the 
finest  nugget  on  record,  was  found  here  in  1858,  weigh- 
ing 184  lbs. ;  it  was  sold  for  ^10,500.  There  are  several 
banks  and  public  institutions,  many  manufactures,  but 
very  inferior  to  those  of  England.  I  wondered  why 
they  ship  wool  to  England  to  be  manufactured  there  and 
sent  back  to  Australia.  They  informed  me  that  it  was 
cheaper  to  purchase  woolen  goods  from  England  than 
to  manufacture  them  in  Australia.  Even  common 
blankets  come  from  the  mother  country.  Frequent 
drouths  and  inundations  are  a  great  drawback.  In  the 
great  drouth  of  1865,  sheep  died  by  tens  of  thousands. 
Melbourne  is  the  capital  of  this  colony.  It  is  a  fine 
city  of  about  225,000  inhabitants,  including  the  suburbs. 
It  is  built  on  undulating  ground  at  the  head  of  the  fine 
harbor,  or  bay,  of  Port  Philip.  The  streets  are  wide 
and  regular.  The  houses  are  of  brick,  wood,  and  stone. 
The  Government-house  and  ofificcs,  Parliament-house, 
and  the  Custom-house  are  truly  fine  buildings.  In  the 
middle  of  Collins  Street  (which  is  the  princii)al  street) 
stand  the  Burke  and  Wills  bronze  monuments  erected 
in  honor  of  the  two  discoverers.  The  Mint  is  a  brancli 
of  that  at  Sydney,  but  now  they  are  both  abolished. 
There  are  several  Catholic  churches.  St.  Patrick's 
Cathedral  is  an  imposing  stone  building,  and  when  fin- 
ished will  be  a  grand  and  magnificent  edifice.  The 
climate  is  be;iutiful  and  pleasant,  except  when  hot 
winds  blow,  which  happens  very  often.      The  dust  in 


I40  A    rOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  streets  is  annoying.  I  have  seen  the  streets  watered 
four  or  five  times  a  day,  yet  after  two  hours  from  being 
watered,  the  dust  commences  to  fly. 

I  went  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  good  and  zealous 
Archbishop,  Dr.  J.  A.  Gould,  of  w'hose  hospitality  and 
holiness  I  had  already  heard  in  other  colonies,  and  of 
the  fine  and  hard-working  clergy  of  his  archdiocese.  At 
once  he  offered  to  me  his  kind  hospitality,  which  I  was 
obliged  to  decline,  explaining  to  him  the  object  of  my 
travel,  and  how  I  intended  to  visit  some  of  my  friends 
in  the  gold  country  of  Sandhurst ;  but  I  promised  to 
dine  with  him  the  next  day,  Sunday. 

I  went  to  sec  the  meat-market,  which,  in  Melbourne, 
nas  a  peculiarity  only  to  be  witnessed  on  Saturday 
evenings.  A  large  quantity  of  mutton  remains  unsold, 
and  as  none  of  it  will  be  kept  for  the  following  week,  it 
is  offered  at  any  price.  Many  people,  especially  wom- 
en, purchase  meat  to  last  for  one  week.  It  is  indeed 
amusing  to  see  and  hear  them  bargaining  for  a  full 
half  mutton.  I  have  seen  a  large  fat  half  mutton  sold 
for  one  shilling ! 

Next  morning  I  went  to  say  Mass  at  the  Cathedral, 
and  in  the  vestry,  a  paper  was  given  to  me  to  read  to 
the  people  after  the  Gospel.  I  read  it  to  myself  first, 
and  it  puzzled  me  to  find  among  other  announcements, 
the  following:  "The  month  of  May  shall  be  continued 
all  this  month  to  November."  I  asked  for  an  explana- 
tion, and  the  sacristan,  who  knew  me  in  xA^mcrica,  told 
me  that  it  was  the  month  of  Mary.  Afterward  the 
Vicar-General,  Very  Rev.  Monsignore  Fitzpatrick,  D.D., 
explained  to  me  that  till  lately  they  had  performed  the 
month  of  Mary  in  May,  but  as  that  month  in  Southern 
Australia  was  in  the  middle  of  autumn,  a  disagreeable 
month,  and  destitute  of  flowers,  they  prefer  to  celebrate 
it  in  the  spring  of  the  southern  hemisphere.     '•'  We  find 


THE   VICTORIA  RAILWAY. 


141 


it,  indeed,"  he  continued,  "  very  difficult  to  impress  on 
the  people  at  Christmas  that  our  Saviour  suffered  from 
cold  at  His  birth,  when  we  here  are  melting  on  account 
of  the  heat."  It  is  the  complaint  of  Europeans  in  Aus- 
tralia, that  they  find  it  difficult  to  associate  to  other  sea- 
sons those  festivals  which  they  had  been  used  to  celebrate 
according  to  the  seasons  of  the  northern  hemisphere  ; 
c.  g.,  to  celebrate  Lent  and  Easter  in  the  fall ;  the  As- 
cension, Corpus  Christi,  and  the  Assumption,  in  the 
winter ;  All  Saints'  day  in  the  spring,  etc.  The  Vicar- 
General  was  so  kind  as  to  accompany  me  to  the  Church 
of  St.  John,  where  I  heard  a  very  eloquent  sermon,  be- 
sides the  performance  of  Haydn's  Mass,  No.  i. 

I  took  breakfast  and  dined  with  the  Archbishop,  who 
invited  me  to  do  so  every  day,  and  sing  Mass  on  the 
following  Sunday,  but  I  told  them  that  next  day  I  in- 
tended to  go  into  the  interior  of  the  country  to  visit 
the  gold  regions;  but  that,  should  I  return  before  Sun- 
day, I  would  comply  with  his  request. 

PLarly  next  morning  I  took  the  cars  for  Castlcmaine 
and  Sandhurst.  This  line  of  railway  from  Melbourne 
to  Sandhurst  and  Ballarat,  under  the  general  name  of 
the  Victoria,  traverses  all  the  chief  diggings  and  towns 
—as  Mount  Alexander,  l^cndigo,  etc.  W'c  passed 
through  rather  level  lands,  with  no  trees  of  an}-  conse- 
quence ;  and  herds  of  sheep  without  number,  grazing 
on  boundless  fields  of  thin  grass.  The  railway  soon 
crossed  extensive  vineyards,  in  \\hich,  at  this  season, 
the  grapes  were  just  forming.  The  farm-houses  wort 
genteel  and  ver)'  neat,  and  the  small  villages  had  an  ap- 
]:)carance  of  elegance  and  comfort.  I  soon  perceived  a 
total  change  of  the  countrx'.  The  land  became  very 
dr\',  dusty,  and  whitish.  All  around  nothing  Ijut  hills 
of  v.'hite  dust,  <'ind  close  to  large,  rough  wooden 
buildings,  tall  stacks  emitting  columns  of  smoke.      No 


142  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

trees,  no  vegetation  of  any  kind  except  a  few  small 
green  patches  attached  to  one-story  houses.  The  coun- 
try resembled  a  flat  crater  of  some  volcano,  and  was  by 
no  means  attractive.  Do  not  wonder;  this  is  the  min- 
ing district.  At  Sandhurst,  a  scattered  town,  I  left  the 
cars,  and  hired  a  carriage  to  take  me  to  my  friend,  Mr. 
George  Lansell,  in  Bendigo,  about  two  miles  from 
Sandhurst. 

Mr.  G.  Lansell,  born  in  England,  has  lived  for  many 
years  in  Australia,  where  he  has  accumulated  a  large 
fortune  by  his  industry  and  labor.  lie  is  a  millionaire, 
and  perhaps  the  wealthiest  man  in  Sandhurst  or  l?en- 
digo.  His  easy  and  affable  disposition,  his  gentlemanly 
and  educated  manner,  his  charities  and  liberalities  have 
endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and 
among  whom  he  commands  the  highest  respect.  He 
made  a  voyage  round  the  world,  starting  for  the  west, 
and  returned  by  the  U.  S.  of  America,  embarking  at  San 
Francisco  for  Sydney.  It  was  in  San  Francisco  that  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  making  his  acquaintance,  and  we 
sailed  in  the  same  steamer — the  City  of  Nc^iV  York — for 
Australia.  The  day  following  my  arrival  at  his  house, 
we  visited  his  fine  fruit  and  flower  gardens,  which  arc 
well  worth  seeing.  This  was  once  a  barren,  dry  piece 
of  ground,  but  Mr.  Lansell  has  turned  it  to  a  most 
lovely  spot.  Besides  the  noble  mansion  which  he  has 
constructed,  he  has  erected  a  summer-house  and  a  bel- 
vedere of  several  stories,  from  the  top  of  which  you 
can  overlook  the  entire  country  of  l^endigo  and  part  of 
Sandhurst.  \\\  this  tastefully  laid-out  garden  )'(hi  find 
every  tree,  vine,  shrub,  flower,  etc.,  of  the  tr()i)ics,  and 
some  of  the  temperate  zone.  There  you  behold  arti- 
ficial lakes  where  swans  and  other  water-fowl  disport 
and  dwell.  You  find  there  artificial  fountains  with 
curious  fancy  jets,  miniature  bridges,  baths,  etc.,  but 


MR.   G.  LANSELL. 


143 


it   being  the  spring-  season,  I   could  taste   but   a  few 
varieties  of  fruits. 

Next  day  after  breakfast,  Mr.  Lansell  and  I  dressed 
ourselves  in  miners'  clothes,  and  went  to  visit  the  various 
gold  mines  belonging  to  him.  My  picture  taken  in 
miner's  clothes  would  have  been  very  interesting  !  We 
descended  several  shafts  many  hundred  feet  deep,  and 
examined  the  manner  in  which  the  gold  veins  in 
the  mines  are  quarried.  The  rocks  containing  ore  are 
hoisted  to  the  surface  and  then  cast  down  into  a  mill  to 
be  crushed ;  the  crushed  rocks  arc  conveyed  to  an-* 
other  mill,  put  into  mortars  in  the  form  of  tubes  five  or 
six  feet  long,  and  with  a  pestle  ground  into  dust, 
through  which  tubes  water  passes,  washing  the  dust, 
descending  several  inclined  planes  covered  with  thick 
and  rough  sheets  of  paper.  The  gold  dust  being  heavier, 
drops  and  settles  on  these  papers,  while  the  muddy 
water  runs  down.  All  these  operations  arc  performed 
by  machinery  moved  by  steam.  The  water  impreg- 
nated with  gold  dust  and  mud,  washes  over  these 
sheets,  and  deposits  gold  dust  and  mud.  These  papers 
are  once  in  each  week  removed  and  washed  in  a  tank, 
and  the  gold  then  separated  from  the  mud,  which  may 
have  also  remained  on  the  papers. 

We  received  an  invitation  to  attend  a  public  dinner 
to  be  given  to  Sir  (j.  I^owen,  Captain-General  and  Gov- 
ernor-in-Chicf  of  Victoria  Colony,  who  was  to  visit 
Sandhurst  on  the  occasion  of  the  Agricultural  Exhibi- 
tion. I  observed  to  Mr.  Lansell  that  I  would  go  with 
great  i)lcasure  to  the  exhibition,  but  with  regard  to 
the  public  dinner,  I  would  prefer  to  decline  that, 
having  always  traveled  i)icog!iito ;  that  it  was  my  inten- 
tion to  continue  the  incos^tiito.  Mr.  Lansell  insisted 
that  I  should  go  with  him  ;  but  seeing  that  I  was  de- 
termined on  the  refusal,  said  :  "  W-ry   well  ;   if  }'ou   do 


144 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


not  t;o,  neither  will  I."  "  No,  sir,"  I  replied,  "  I  do  not 
wish  to  deprive  you  and  your  friends  of  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  each  other  at  this  public  and  diplomatic 
reception."  ''  No,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Lansell,  with  deter- 
mination. "  I  will  not  go  without  you  !  "  Perceiving 
this,  I  was  obliged  to  yield,  and  we  arranged  for  next 
day  to  pay  first  a  visit  to  his  Lordship,  Right  Rev. 
Martin  Crane,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Sandhurst,  then  go  to 
see  the  exhibition,  and  afterward  to  attend  the  public 
dinner. 

According  to  this  programme,  after  visiting  the  town 
of  Sandhurst,  we  rode  to  the  residence  of  the  Bishop. 
Although  Mr.  Lansell  was  not  a  Catholic,  he  yet  was 
desirous  of  meeting  the  Bishop,  of  whom  he  had  heard 
so  much;  of  his  learning,  piety,  hospitality,  and  above 
all  of  his  fatherly  manners.  Ur.  Crane  received  us  with 
his  usual  kindness  ;  he  took  us  through  all  his  house 
and  church,  and  we  were  pained  to  hear  and  see  how 
his  cathedral  was  giving  wa\'  on  account  of  the  natural 
insolidity  of  the  soil  on  which  it  was  erected.  The  good 
Bishop  had  spared  neither  labor  nor  money  to  sustain 
and  to  repair  the  church,  but  all  in  vain,  and  I  fear  that 
in  the  end  it  will  fall  down.  He  wanted  to  keep  us  for 
dinner,  but  having  heard  of  our  arrangement  for  that 
day,  he  did  not  insist  any  further,  but  turning  to  me, 
insisted  that  I  should  st(jp  with  him.  Learning  that 
I  was  enjo}'ing  the  kind  hospitality  of  my  friend  Mr. 
Lansell,  still  he  made  me  promise  that  on  m\'  return  I 
would  sta\'  with  him. 

Lea\'ing  the  good  Bishojj  we  next  visited  the  agri- 
cultural exhibition.  It  being  the  commencement  of 
the  spring,  the  show  of  fruits  and  vegetables  could  not 
be  much,  but  the  exhibit  of  cattle,  llowers,  manufac- 
tured articles,  and  needle-work  was  very  good,  especi- 
ally for  a  colon}'  of  not   many  years  existence.     The 


THE  BANQUET  TO  THE  GOVERNOR.  145 

crowd  was  very  great,  and  I  can  say  that  the  exhibition 
was  a  perfect  success. 

In  the  evening  we  went  to  the  Town  Hall  for  the 
public  and  diplomatic  dinner  to  the  Governor,  Sir  G. 
Bowen.  After  having  been  formally  introduced  to  his 
Excellency  and  other  authorities,  we  entered  the  hall, 
where  the  dinner  had  been  prepared  ;  the  Governor 
occupied  the  center  of  the  long  front  table,  at  both 
ends  of  which  there  were  several  other  long  tables 
forming  two  wings.  The  guests,  about  one  hundred  in 
number,  were  seated  all  round,  occupying  only  the 
outer  side  of  the  tables.  I  took  a  place  at  the  front 
table,  where  Mr.  Lansell  sat,  but  at  some  distance  from 
the  center,  but  I  was  called  to  take  a  place  the  third 
from  the  Governor. 

The  banquet  was  prepared  with  good  taste  and  ele- 
gant management,  and  afforded  me  an  admirable  op- 
portunity for  tasting  all  the  luxuries  of  the  colony,  as 
nothing  was  allowed  on  the  table  except  productions 
from  Victoria.  Amongst  the  other  things,  I  admired  the 
fine  quality  of  wine,  of  which  there  were  four  different 
kinds,  all  raised  in  the  colony,  and  the  great  variety  of 
exquisite  fruits,  notwithstanding  the  season. 

During  dinner  the  band  performed  some  very  har- 
monious national  pieces  of  music.  Then  toasts  com- 
menced. The  first  was  to  drink  to  the  health  of  Vic- 
toria, Queen  of  luigland,  the  band  playing  "  God  save 
the  Queen  ; "  the  second  was  to  the  health  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  ;  the  third,  to  his  Excellency  Gover- 
nor G.  J^owen,  who  answered  by  a  very  elocpient 
.speech,  etc. 

The   colony  of   .South    Australia   is   situated   on   tlie 

southern   coast  of  the   continent   of  Australia,  wrsl    of 

Victoria    colony,    occu})ying    Nuyt's    Eand,    extiMiding 

northward   to  Carpentaria  ;   but    the   most    of    this    vast 

7 


146  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

tract  of  land  to  Carpentaria  is  nothing  but  a  waste 
desert,  imperfectly  known  ;  yet  the  southern  part  and 
the  eastern  boundaries,  with  Victoria,  are  rich,  and  the 
products  are  the  same  as  in  Victoria,  except  that  gold 
is  found  only  in  small  quantity.  South  Australia  is  the 
largest,  and,  I  would  say,  the  only  colony  that  produces 
grain  for  the  entire  continent  of  Australia.  The  popula- 
tion is  about  202,000,  of  whom  30,000  live  in  the  city  of 
Adelaide.  This  city  comprises  two  towns,  connected 
by  four  wooden  bridges  and  divided  by  a  park  about 
a  mile  in  width,  through  which  the  river  Torrcns  flows. 
Port  Adelaide  is  eight  miles  below  the  capital. 

The  colony  of  West  x\ustralia  (or  Swan  River  Col- 
ony), occupying  the  south-west  corner  of  this  continent, 
is  the  smallest  of  the  colonics  here,  but  with  respect 
to  territory  it  is  the  largest  of  all.  It  has  no  great 
rivers  nor  good  harbors.  The  best  harbor  in  the  colony 
is  at  Albany.  On  the  south-west  side  is  King  George's 
Sound,  a  coaling  station  for  the  Pciiiiisidar  and  Ori- 
ental Company  s  steamers,  calling  about  once  a  month 
from  and  to  Ceylon.  The  entire  populati(jn  of  the 
colony  is  only  24,<Soo.  There  is  some  good  land  and 
some  timber,  coal,  lead,  and  fruits  ;■■  but  two  author- 
ized post-offices  (Perth,  the  capital),  and  Albany  (King 
George's  Sound) ;  and  no  railroads.  Perth  has  onl\-  5,000 
inhabitants,  and  it  is  situated  on  the  Swan  River,  eleven 
miles  above  Frcmantle,  which  forms  its  harbor.  Till 
lately  it  was  the  only  settlement  in  Australia  to  which 
convicts  were  sent.  The  last  batch  of  convicts  left 
England  in  December,  18C7.  It  was  at  the  request  of 
the  residents  that  Perth  was  abolished  as  a  place  of 
transportation    for   criminals,  where  there   are  still  sev- 

*  Tulbanof,  near  the  coast,  is  a  peak  5,ooo  feet  high.  Several 
marshy  Jakes  exist  inland. 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES.  1 47 

eral  convict  depots  and  stations.  In  Perth  there  is  a 
bishop,  but  he  has  very  little  to  do,  as  the  number  of 
Catholics  is  very  small. 

I  took  my  leave  from  the  good  Archbishop,  Dr. 
James  A.  Gould,  and  from  Monsigr.  Fitzpatrick,  D.D., 
V.G.,  and  other  clergy,  and  I  sailed  and  left  Melbourne 
highly  impressed  with  the  spiritual  progress  of  this 
archdiocese,  which  comprehends  the  bishoprics  of 
Adelaide,  Ballarat  (a  city  of  50,000  inhabitants),  Hobart 
Town  (Tasmania),  Perth,  and  Sandhurst — ^that  is,  four 
entire  colonies.  I  can  not  state  with  exactness  the 
number  of  Catholics  in  the  archdiocese,  but  they  are 
numerous  and  practical. 

We  encountered  very  rough  sea  in  Bass'  Straits,  and 
rounding  the  Cape  we  entered  Albert  Town,  a  small 
village  with  a  harbor.  Off  Cape  Howe  we  had  also 
very  high  sea,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  voyage  to 
Sydney  the  weather  was  very  fine. 

The  colony  of  New  South  Wales  was  once  considered 
the  largest  of  the  five  Australian  continent  colonies,  but 
now  Victoria  holds  the  first  place.  It  formerly  included 
Victoria  and  Queensland.  It  was  first  settled  in  1788  as 
a  penal  colony,  and  called  Botany  Bay,  from  the  number 
of  flowers  seen  by  Captain  Cook  in  1770.  The  climate  is 
generally  healthy.  Mean  temperature  at  Sydney,  at  a 
spot  145  feet  above  the  sea,  61. >°;  and  at  Bathurst,  2,233 
feet  abo\'e  the  sea,  55".  Darling  Downs  are  dry  and 
bracing,  and  good  for  consumptive  patients.  Near 
Simbour  the  bottle-trcc  grows  sixty-five  feet  high,  and 
is  tapped  f(jr  a  drink.  Mount  Kosciusko,  in  the  Aus- 
tralian Alps,  is  7,310  feet  high,  and  it  is  nearly  always 
covered  with  sn(n\'.  There  is  good  timber.  The  red 
cedar  is  ten  feet  in  diameter.  Some  of  the  trees  are 
twenty  to  sixty  feet  arcnind,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
to  two  hundred   feet  high — such  as   the  Butt,  the  Iron- 


148  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

bark,  the  Illawarra-box,  and  other  trees.  The  soil 
yields  arrowroot,  maize,  wheat,  cayenne -pepper,  to- 
bacco, sarsaparilla,  su<^ar,  and  excellent  wine,  which  is 
very  like  the  Rhenish.  There  are  mines  of  t;'old,  lead, 
and  other  minerals,  beside  an  abundance  of  coal.  The 
population  in  1873  was  339,200. 

vSydney,  the  capital  of  this  thriving  colony,  is  a  fine 
cit\- of  135,000  inhabitants,  and  the  oldest  place  in  Aus- 
tralia. The  principal  street  is  George  Street,  which  is 
the  thoroughfare  and  center  of  retail  business.  The  best 
part  of  the  town  consists  of  three  or  four  streets  run- 
ning parallel  to  George  Street,  and  of  others  which  cross 
these  at  right  angles.  There  are  some  handsome  edi- 
fices, namely,  the  Town-Hall,  the  ]\Iint  (now  abolished), 
Exchange,  etc. ;  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  was  burnt  down. 
It  was  here  that  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  landed  from 
H.  M.  S.  Galatea,  2 1st  of  January,  1868.  At  Clontarf, 
while  opening  the  Sailors'  Home,  12th  of  March,  he 
was  shot  at  by  O'Farrell,  a  Fenian,  and  wounded  in 
the  back.  The  murderer  was  tried  and  executed  forth- 
with ;  and  the  Duke  upon  recovering  from  his  w  ound 
left  for  England. 

I  went  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  A rcli bishop,  Alo^t 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Bede  Folding,  but  as  he  was  out  of  town 
I  left  my  card.  Then  I  repaired  to  the  Catliedral,  or 
what  comes  under  the  name  of  cathedral,  to  see  the 
Vicar-General.  They  directed  me  to  a  kind  of  shant}' 
down  hill  having  a  plain  door  about  six  by  two  and  a 
half  feet.  I  opened  it,  and  saw  a  man  wearing  ;i 
curious  kind  of  cap,  of  whom  I  asl<ed,  "Are  \'ou  the 
Vicar-General?"  "His  Laardsliccp  has  gone  to  St. 
John."  Not  feeling  satisfied,  I  returned  to  the  churcli, 
and  spoke  to  a  clerg\-man  wlio  \vas  said  to  be  the  Dean, 
and  he  explained  that  His  (irace,  Archbishop  Vaughan, 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  Vicar-General,  Rector  of  St.  John's 


LETTER  ON  THE  PRIESTHOOD.  j^g 

College,  and  I  do  not  know  what  else,  was  to  be  seen 
only  for  one  hour  each  day,  and  this  hour,  if  I  remember 
well,  was  from  ten  to  eleven  o'clock  ;  but  that  he  might 
be  accessible  by  taking  a  carriage,  and  driving  for  some 
miles  out  into  the  country  to  St.  John's  College.  This 
appeared  to  me  a  very  curious  arrangement  for  a  Vicar- 
General.  "  But  he  must  have  appointed  some  other 
clergyman,"  I  said,  '"  for  the  time  that  he  is  absent, 
which  seems  to  be  always  ;  and  it  is  not  everybody  who 
feels  disposed  to  take  a  ride  out  of  town."  "  No,  sir," 
he  replied  ;  "  he  has  appointed  nobody."  "  I  have  no 
other  business,"  I  said,  "  except  to  pay  my  respects. 
Here  is  my  card  ;  please  to  present  it  to  him."  I  bowed 
to  him  and  left. 

On  board  the  steamer  a  newspaper  was  given  to  me 
to  read  the  following  article,  Mr.  Pigott  on  the  "  Priest- 
hood." 

"  7'o  the  Editor  of  the  1 1  erald  :  •• 

"Sir: — My  attention  \\as  drawn  to  a  letter  .  .  .  . 
written  b)' Mr.  Dalley  ....  how  many  erroneous  ideas 
are  prevalent  with  regard  to  the  power  and  position  of 
the  priesthood  I  To  one  indeed  who  knows  who  and 
what  thc\-  (the  priests)  are,  thc\'  appear  somewhat  simi- 
lar to  the  celebrated  animal  which  received  more  kicks 
than  halfpence.  Some  regard  them  as  tyrannical  des- 
pots, whereas  no  body  of  men  on  the  earth  are  so  weak 
and  helpless Shut  out  by  their  calling  from  re- 
dressing their  wrongs  b\'  invoking  the  aid  of  the  laws 
of  the  lanti,  an  ajipeal  to  Rome,  meaning  much  the 
same  as  an  appeal  to  Heaven,  having  no  organized 
societ)-,  cliapter,  or  council,  they  bec(Mne  mere  sla\'cs 
to  him  wlio  happens  to  hokl  the   Episcopal  whip  and 

*  See  Sydney  Herald,  nth  of  March,  1876. 


ISO 


A    TOUR  I A^  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


reins.  If  any  unhappy  cleric  chances,  through  no  fault 
whatever,  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  his  bishop,  then 
'■VcB  victis^  for  his  bishop  is  judge,  jury,  accuser,  and 
executioner.     How  any  sane  man  can   endure  such  a 

state  of  things  is  a  puzzle Perhaps  the  day  is 

not  far  distant  when  the  government  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  in  Australia  will  be  put  on  a  mo^e  equitable  ba- 
sis ;  then,  and  not  till  then,  will  the  Catholic  interests 
really  flourish.  Thus  the  idea  which  some  have  of  the 
enormous  power  of  priests  is  laughable,  for,  as  a  class, 
none  are  so  helpless 

"  I  am,  sir,  yours  truly." 

A  Scotch  doctor  on  board  the  steamer  told  me  that 
it  alluded  to  a  current  opinion  that  a  time  is  approach- 
ing for  a  reformation  in  the  Church  on  this  subject ; 
and  that  the  writer  of  that  letter  alluded  to  the  Vicar- 
General  of  Sydney,  Archbishop  Vaughan,  and  to  the 
Bishop  of  Brisbane,  in  Australia  ;  but  especially  to  the 
former. 

This  affair  was  widely  known  in  Australia,  and  un- 
fortunately had  created  not  a  little  scandal,  not  only 
amongst  the  clergy,  but  amongst  the  people.  Of  course 
I  could  not  explain  it  on  board  the  boat,  but  in  Austra- 
lia I  was  informed  that  the  case  was  this  : 

Dr.  Octavius  l^arsanti,  a  great  scholar,  a  theologian, 
and  much  versed  in  canonical  law,  and  a  hard-working 
missionary,  who  had  filled  high  position  in  his  Order  ; 
who  had  also  spent  several  years  amongst  the  natives 
of  New  Zealand,  in  danger  of  being  de\'Oured  by  those 
cannibals  ;  who  for  eleven  years  had  been  working  at 
the  Cathedral  of  Sydney  (New  South  Wales),  during 
which  time  the  venerated  Archbishop  Folding  had  such 
high  opinion  of  him,  that  he  sent  him  as  Coniniissariiis 
ordinariiis  to  Rome  for  the  transaction  of  a  very  im- 


THE  CASE  OF  DR.  BARSANTI. 


151 


portant  affair-^was  conducting  in  Sydney  a  retreat 
for  the  nuns  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  preparing 
them  for  the  feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  when  he  re- 
ceiv^ed,  without  any  previous  information  and  without 
assigning  any  reason,  a  peremptory  order  suspend- 
ing and  dismissing  him  from  tlie  archdiocese  ;  thus 
throwing  him  on  the  street,  disgracing  an  old  and  ex- 
emplary Apostolic  Prefect,  leading  the  public  to  believe 
him  guilt}'  of  some  awful  crime,  for  which  he  deserved 
to  be  abruptly  and  opprobriously  removed  without  any 
trial,  hearing,  or  any  chance  of  self-defense.  Several 
priests  in  \"ain  tried  to  plead  in  favor  of  Dr.  Rarsanti ; 
and  as  he  was  very  popular  and  beloved  in  Sydney, 
many  offered  to  help  and  support  him. 

As  Apostolic  Prefect  he  had  his  faculties  from  Rome; 
but  being  deprived  of  the  parochial  faculties,  he  was 
deprived  also  of  the  means  of  ]i\ing,  thus  throwing  him, 
an  old  missionary,  with  a  broken  leg  (broken  in  the  mis- 
sion by  a  fall  from  horseback),  in  his  advanced  age  on 
the  charity  of  his  brethren  and  people. 

But  what  was  this  enormous  and  high  crime  com- 
mitted by  Dr.  Barsanti,  for  which  he  deserved  to  be  so 
peremptorily  and  publicly  degraded,  dismissed  from 
the  archdiocese  forever,  without  any  hope  of  pardon? 
Was  it  a  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost?  No.  It  was 
nothing  else  but  a  misunderstanding  about  a  receipt 
given  in  good  faith,  of  the  paltry  sum  of  £'^  <^s.  !  ! ! 

"  Partitriuiit  nioiitcs,  iiascctur  ridiiulus  niiis." — Horace. 
(The  moLint.-iiiis  brinf^  forth,  a  ridiculous  mouse  is  born). 

Dr.  Barsanti  appealed  to  Rome.  His  Eminence', 
Cardinal  .\.  I'Vanchi,  wrf)te  to  hiin  a  truly  fatherl)-  antl 
reconciling  letter;  and  Monsignor  Trionfetti,  I^ishop 
of  Terracina  and  Procurator  of  Dr.  Barsanti  in  Rome, 
wrote  to  him,  saying  that  Cardinal  h'ranchi,  and  all  in  the 


152  A    TOUR  IN  BO TH  HEMISPHERES. 

Propaganda,  having  examined  his  case,  are  convinced 
that  he  (Dr.  Barsanti)  is  innocent  and  unjustly  dealt 
with.""  In  a  conversation  that  I  held  in  Rome  with 
Cardinal  Franchi  upon  this  subject,  the  same  was  con- 
firmed to  me  by  the  same  cardinal. f 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  Vicar-General,  Archbishop 
Vaughan,  after  making  his  retreat  in  Lyndhurst,  told  a 
priest  that  Dr.  Barsanti  should  not  hope  for  any  chance 
of  reconciliation  and  restoration,  because,  should  any 
order  come  from  Rome  to  this  effect,  he  (Dr.  Vaughan) 
would  pack  up  all  his  things  and  go  back  to  his  monas- 
tery in  England.  The  people  were  scandalized  at  this 
example  of  obstinacy  and  insubordination  to  Rome  set 
by  an  archbishop  before  an  archdiocese,  both  clergy 
and  people  ! 

Thanks  to  God,  such  instances  rarely  occur  in  our 
Church.  When  Rome  speaks,  all  submit.  Yet,  un- 
fortunately, we  have  amongst  us  some  few  instances 
where,  while  some  bishops  require  strict  obedience 
from  the  clergy,  they  are  not  so  diligent  in  obeying 
Rome  themselves,  and  find  pretexts  and  subterfuges 
in  order  to  render  null  the  voice  of  Rome,  which  is 
worse  than  if  they  were  to  come  out  openly  and  refuse 
to  obey  Rome.  The  refusal  to  obey  the  voice  of  Rome, 
or  to  quibble  about  obeying  its  decisions,  or  to  acquiesce 
in  them,  has  always  been  regarded  as  a  step  toward 
heresy.  If  due  obedience  had  been  given  to  Rome, 
there  would  exist  no  heresies,  no  schisms.     Ileresiarchs 


*  See  letter  (July  8,  1875)  of  Monsipnor  Trionfetti  to  Dr.  Barsanti 
in  the  printed  correspondence  between  him  (Dr.  Barsanti)  and  Car- 
dinal Franchi. 

f  This  illustrious  cardinal  died  a  few  months  after  my  arrival  in 
America,  1877.  In  the  lamentable  death  of  Cardinal  Franchi  the 
Church  has  lost  one  of  the  most  interesting  members  of  that  Sacred 
College. 


THE  INVISIBLE   VICAR-GENERAL. 


153 


always  commenced  in  this  manner.  I  know  that  it  is 
pride  that  prompts  them  to  disobey  Rome,  but  the 
Holy  Ghost  says  (Eccles.  x.  15):  "Pride  is  the  begin- 
ning of  all  sin  ;  he  that  holdeth  it  shall  be  filled  with 
maledictions,  and  it  shall  ruin  in  the  end."  Rome  is 
the  spring  and  center  of  all  jurisdiction.  It  is  Rome 
that  feeds  all  the  sheep  and  lambs.  Who  refuses  the 
food  from  Rome,  like  Judas  eats  condemnation.* 

Next  day,  Saturday,  I  made  another  attempt  to  see 
Dr.  Vaughan.  I  was  at  the  Vicar-General's  ofifice  just 
at  three-quarters  past  lO  A.M.  Lo !  the  office  was 
closed.  I  felt  disgusted.  In  going  away  I  met  the 
same  clergyman,  \\\\o  informed  me  that  on  Saturday 
the  office  closes  half  an  hour  earlier.  "Take  a  carriage, 
and  drive  to  St.  John's  College.  We  desire  you  to 
sing  High  Mass  at  the  cathedral  to-morrow."  "Thank 
you,  sir,"  I  replied.  "  Having  accepted  an  invitation 
to  dine  to-morrow  out  of  town,  you  must  excuse  me. 
I  will  sa}'  Mass  either  at  the  good  IMarist  Brothers, 
where  I  was  invited,  or  at  the  Arnott  House.  As  for 
Dr.  Vaughan,  I  came  twice  to  see  him,  and  I  sent  my 
card  ;  that  is  sufficient." 

Next  day,  after  Mass  at  the  Arnott  House,  with 
some  of  my  friends,  I  drove  out  of  town  to  see  the 
surrounding  country.  Among  other  things  I  admired 
very  much  the  beauty  of  l^otany  Bay,  which,  from  a 
locality  of  convicts  has  been  changed  into  a  delicious 
and  cheering  country  full  of  picturesque  villas.  There 
I  saw  the  noble  monument  erected  to  the  distinguished 
hVench  navigator,  John  Francis  (jalaup  de  Laperouse, 
on  the  side  of  Botany  Bay  where  he  anchored  on  the 
26th  of  January,  I7<S<S.      In   March  he  sailed  from  Bot- 


*This  affair  is  yet  in  stain  quo.      I  heard  tliat  Archbishop  Vaughan 
docs  notliinj^  now,  hut  goes  round  ihi;  coiintr)'  to  give  lectures, 


154  -^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

any  Bay  with  his  two  vessels,  the  Boussolc  and  As/ro- 
labc,  to  continue  his  researches  till  December,  as  the 
Commodore  wrote  to  France  on  the  7th  of  February. 
This  was  the  latest  intelligence  received  of  the  fate  of 
the  expedition.  A  cross  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis  and 
some  medals,  which  appeared  to  have  been  procured 
from  the  shipwreck  of  Laperouse,  were  seen  in  the 
hands  of  natives  of  an  island  in  the  track  between 
Louisiade  and  New  Caledonia. 

At  the  Arnott  House  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Bishop  of  Bathurst,  Dr.  Matthew  Ouinn,  brother  of  the 
Bishop  of  Brisbane,  but  quite  different  from  him.  Dr. 
M.  Quinn  is  a  fatherl}-,  humble,  and  hard-working 
prelate.  F^or  many  a  year  he  had  been  exercising  the 
duty  of  missionary  under  the  burning  sun  of  India. 
He  gave  very  interesting  information  about  India  and 
the  Indians,  and  valuable  instructions  for  preserving 
my  health  while  traveling  through  that  sickly  country. 
He  tried  on  my  broad-brimmed  white  panama  hat,  and 
said,  "  This  will  do  ver\'  well  in  the  northern  part  of 
India,  but  not  in  Southern  India.  You  have  no  idea 
how  piercing  the  sun  is  there  ;  it  is  not  as  in  Australia." 
He  in\-ited  me  to  spend  a  icw  (la\-s  with  him  in  Bath- 
urst, but  I  thanked  him  \-ciy  much  and  excused  m\'- 
self,  because  the  next  da)-  1  was  to  sail  Un-  China.  In 
the  diocese  of  Bathurst  there  ai"e  25,000  Catholics. 
The  entire  j)opulati()n,  including  all  denominations,  is 
70,000.     There  are  1,200  aborigines. 

Besides  Bathurst,  122  miles  from  S)-dne}',  on  the  ri\-er 
Macquarie,  the  diocese  suffrag.ui  of  Sydne\-,  Armidalc, 
an  insignificant  place,  and  but  a  small  diocese  \\ith  only 
six  priests.  Brisbane  is  a  large  diocese  extending  as 
far  north  as  the  peninsula  of  CA'ork  on  the  .Straits  of 
Torres,  but  it  is  a  wilderness.  The  diocese  of  Alct- 
land  is  another  inconsiderable  town,  93  miles  from  S}-d- 


SUBIACO  CONVENT.  I  55 

ney  on  the  river  liunter  and  Northern  Raih'oad  ;  has  a 
Catholic  population  of  about  28,000.  The  diocese  of 
Victoria  is  only  on  paper.  The  Bishop,  Dr.  Rodesindo 
Salvado,  was  consecrated  before  the  existence  of  the 
diocese,  and  now  he  is  nowhere.  The  projected  settle- 
ment called  North  Australia,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  having  Victoria  for  its  capital,  at 
the  bottom  of  Port  Essington,  was  given  up  for  the 
reason  stated  by  me  in  this  chapter.  I  think  that  the 
diocese  of  Victoria  will  have  the  same  luck  as  the  dio- 
cese of  Walla  Walla  in  the  United  States. 

I  was  notified  that  the  day  for  sailing  for  China  was 
fixed  for  Saturday  afternoon  at  5  o'clock,  November  3d. 
I  availed  myself  of  the  short  time  left  to  make  an 
excursion  along  the  beautiful  river  Paramatta  to  Subi- 
aco  Convent.  Near  the  banks  there  were  several  orange 
grox'cs,  but  not  very  extensive,  because  this  fruit  is 
raised  with  difficulty  and  much  expense,  on  account  of 
the  water,  which  is  scarce.  This  river  is  navigable  for 
a  few  miles  onh',  and  both  banks  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Sydney  are  studded  with  charming  villas.  I  took 
my  leave  of  the  good  and  aged  Archbishop  Polding, 
who  was  very  sick  and  had  received  the  last  Sacra- 
ments.''•  I  took  a  farewell  of  my  friends,  and  ac- 
companied b\'  some  of  them,  I  went  on  board  the 
steamship  Boiccii,  which  was  h'ing  at  the  wharf.  I 
had  already  secured  the  best  state-room  ;  and  there,  in 
company  with  ^-ome  of  m\'  friends,  remained  till  5  P.M., 
when  tlie  last  bell  was  rung,  and  in  the  midst  of  tlie 
most  cordial  atlieus,  farewells,  and  acclamatioris,  the 
Pwiucn   left    her   moorings;    S\-dne\'   soon    disappeared, 


*  The  ^I'xjd  Archhisho])  died  two  months  afterward.  lie  had  not 
been  able  to  attend  to  the  Archdiocese  for  years.  Dr.  V'auLjhan  was 
coadjutor  witli  the  right  of  succession. 


156  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

and  in  a  short  time  the  pilot  quitted  us.  After  a  few 
minutes  the  noble  Bcnvcii  crossed  the  only  entrance  to 
the  harbor,  and  doubling  the  northern  head  steered 
northward  toward  Moreton  ]^a\-  for  Brisbane. 

Out  on  the  ocean  we  met  with  storms  and  very  rough 
sea,  and  although  we  were  always  in  sight  of  land,  I 
was  very  sea-sick.  Next  day  I  got  up  early  to  enjoy 
the  wild  and  romantic  view  of  the  Australian  coast  on 
our  lee,  and  of  the  many  wild  islands  on  our  right. 
The  numerous  sailing  vessels  and  steamboats  that  we 
met  with  made  this  passage  ver\-  interesting.  There 
was  no  church  service  on  board,  although  it  was  Sun- 
day. Next  day  it  was  pleasant,  but  the  large  number 
of  porpoises  that  were  playing  and  leaping  high  in  the 
air  gave  indication  of  an  approaching  storm.  We 
crossed  Clarence  Bay  toward  the  evening,  where  we  ob- 
served vessels  that  had  been  wrecked  the  day  before. 
Next  morning  it  was  very  stormy,  and  many  other  ship- 
wrecks could  be  observed  along  the  coast.  In  the  after- 
noon we  rounded  Point  Danger.  The  coast  here  forms  a 
barrier  of  high,  somber,  rocky  mountains,  in  many  places 
being  perpendicular  in  the  ocean.  No  sign  of  vegeta- 
tion was  observable.  After  battling  some  hours  against 
a  furious  storm  the  Boivcii  managed  to  enter  Moreton 
Bay,  where  we  anchored  for  the  night,  and  where  Cap- 
tain Cook  last  anchored  in  1770.  The  storm  continued 
to  rage.  Rain  was  falling  in  torrents,  accompanied  by 
terrific  lightning  and  sharp  thunder.  I  observed  that 
the  form  of  the  lightning  was  different  from  what  I  had 
.  beheld  elsewhere.  The  electric  fluid  appeared  to  spring 
from  the  land  or  the  sea,  shoot  to  the  clouds,  where  it 
branched  in  different  forms  and  in  different  directions. 
It  seldom  shot  from  the  clouds. 

At  6  A.M.  we  started  again  for  the  inside  of  the  bay, 
and  anchored  just  where  the  water  was  s-ifficiently  deep 


Q  UEENSLAND.  I  5  j 

to  keep  the  steamboat  afloat.  There  we  waited  some 
time  for  the  tender  to  convey  us  to  Brisbane,  13  miles 
up  the  Moriton  River.  The  shores  round  us  were  flat 
and  swampy,  and  so  also  was  the  river.  The  tender 
arrived  after  a  full  hour,  but  the  weather  was  insuffer- 
ably hot,  having  nothing  to  screen  us  from  the  burn- 
ing rays  of  the  sun.  In  going  up  to  the  city  we  ob- 
served a  multitude  of  black  and  white  swans,  and  also 
many  pelicans,  with  which  this  river  swarmed.  Before 
noon  we  landed  at  Brisbane,  the  capital  of  Queensland 
Colony. 

Queensland  eighteen  years  ago  formed  a  part  of  New 
South  Wales.  It  commences  from  Point  Danger  on 
the  coast  below  Brisbane  and  extends  northward  to 
Cape  York  in  Torres'  Straits,  facing  New  Guinea.  It 
has  a  long  coast  line  of  2,250  miles.  The  entire  popu- 
lation is  only  133,000.  Except  a  few  cultivated  spots, 
the  remainder  of  the  country  is  a  vast  waste,  including 
the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  which  forms  a  part  of  this  col- 
ony. There  are  extensive  pastures.  About  6,700,000 
sheep,  1,200,000  cattle,  and  93,000  horses  are  pastured 
in  the  colony,  yielding  the  staple  exports — wool,  tallow, 
and  hides.  Its  horses  furnish  a  plentiful  supply  of  good 
thorough-breds,  called  "'IVa/ers,"  for  the  cavalry  in  In- 
dia. It  is  said  that  the  soil  along  the  coast,  east  of  the 
main  range,  and  toward  the  tropics,  the  hill-slopes  and 
valleys,  is  favorable  to  the  vine,  indigo,  bark,  nutmeg, 
ginger,  tea,  coffee,  c<jtton,  sugar,  tobacco,  and  other 
products  of  India  and  the  tropics,  and  I  believe  it.  At 
Brisbane  a  Catholic  missionary  received  a  present  of 
pine-apples.  He  planted  some  of  them,  and  now  they 
have  multiplied  immensely.  Here  and  there  banana, 
arrow-root,  sugar-cane,  mulberry-trees  for  silk,  and  most 
fruits  have  been  raised  with  success.  There  is  gold, 
copper,  and  indications  of  tin,  iron,  and  marble.    Among 


158  --^    TOCR  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  timber  is  the  Morcton  Bay  pine,  the  Bunya-Biinya 
pine,  sometimes  200  feet  high,  etc. 

Tlie  cHmate  is  warm,  especially  in  the  part  within 
the  tropics.  In  the  Ciulf  of  Carpentaria  and  in  many 
other  districts  the  climate  is  very  unhealthy.  Although 
I  did  not  stop  at  Brisbane  more  than  a  little  over  two 
half  days,  it  appeared  to  me  an  age.  Nothing  to  occup)' 
the  time.  The  Parliament-house  was  not  much  to  visit, 
yet  it  served  to  kill  some  of  the  hours.  The  heat  was 
excessive.  I  visited  the  cathedral,  which  when  finished 
will  be  a  pretty  handsome  building.  But  when  that 
will  be,  God  only  knows.  For  the  present  it  is  the 
abode  of  many  kinds  of  birds,  which  nestle  there  and 
multiply.  Their  confused  music  interrupts  the  solemn 
silence  of  those  naked  walls,  and  the  large  windows 
destitute  of  glass  offer  a  free  passage  to  the  feathered 
fowls  to  praise  the  Lord  ;  and  when  I  heard  the  birds 
singing  before  the  altar,  I  remembered  that  the\-  all 
had  been  invited  by  the  Royal  Prophet  to  join  in  smg- 
ing  the  praises  of  (jod,  and  I  could  not  refrain  from  ex- 
claiming with  Da\-id  (Ps.  \-iii.)  : 

"  O  Lortl,  our  Lord,  how  admirable  is  thy  name  in  the  whole  earth." 

I  met  with  Ver\'  Rev.  J.  Cani,  D.D.,  Vicar-General, 
who  had  Ijcen  working  for  man\'  \-ears,  and  having 
broken  one  leg  was  not  able  to  walk,  \-et  he  attended  the 
mission  on  horseback.  He  seemed  to  be  frightened  of 
]^;sh<)])  Janu's  (.)uiiTn,  and  in  course  of  con\'ersation  he  did 
not  b!u--h  to  sa\',  that  in  Brisbane  the  priests  t^re  scr\- 
ants  of  the  l^ishop.  In  other  missions  I  had  heiu'vl 
mucli  concerning  Brisbane;  the  clergy  are  a  class  ot 
hard-working  and  exemplar}'  priests,  but  the\'  are  treated 
unk'indK',  and  I  ha\'e  heard,  to  sa\"  the  least,  this  is  the 
reason  wh\'  the  Bishop  of  Ih'isbane  was  left  bv  a  large 
number  of  his  priests.     \  very  short  time  ago  seven  or 


VICAR-GENERAL  CANT. 


'59 


twelve  priests  left  in  a  lump  ;  and  they  have  written  to 
Ireland  to  Maynooth  College  not  to  send  any  priest  to 
Bishop  James  Ouinn,  because  he  does  not  know  how  to 
treat  them  properly.  He  has  now  very  few  priests  ;  all 
of  whom  expect  changes  direct  from  Rome.  No  priest 
has  been  sent  from  Ireland  since.*  Even  his  own 
brother,  the  saintly  Dr.  Matthew  Ouinn,  Bishop  of 
Bathurst,  condemns  his  conduct. 

Rev.  James  Conway,  well  known  in  England  for  his 
zeal  and  eloquence  and  other  good  cjualities,  had 
been  educated  at  All-Hallows  College  for  the  American 
missions,  but  when  ready  to  sail,  a  Bishop  from  Aus- 
tralia (supposed  to  be  Bishop  Ouinn,  of  Brisbane)  hap- 
pened to  be  at  All-Hallows  in  search  of  priests  for  his 
diocese.  Rev.  James  Conway  was  persuaded  to  go  with 
that  Bishop,  while  another  clergyman  offered  himself  for 
America  in  place  of  Father  Conway.  hVom  Brisbane 
after  a  icw  \X'ars,  Bishop  Ouinn  sent  him  to  Sydney, 
where  he  got  sick,  and  in  a  \x'r\-  short  time  died  in  the 
arms  of  the  good  and  charitable  Rev.  Dr.  h\)rrcst. 

In  the  steamboat  Bozi'cn  there  was  a  Scotch  doctor 
who  had  happened  to  be  in  the  same  steamer  with  the 
seven  or  twelve  priests  who  had  left  J^risbane,  and 
being  well  acquainted  with  the  cause  of  their  leaving, 
spoke  consitlerabh'  upon  the  subject. 

1  went  to  pa\'  m)'  respects  to  the  Bishop,  but  he  had 
gone  to  take  a  ride  for  his  heahh.  I  left  niv  card,  and 
\\as  told  to  return  in  the  t:\eniiig,  which  I  did  in  com- 
ing l)ack  from  \-isiting  the  cit\-.  llis  lordshi])  had  not 
returned,  and  the\-  were  not  certain  that  he  would  be 
back  for  the  ex'ening,  because  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
takiiiLf  'I'lirkish  h^xths  for  th('  benefit  of  his  constil  .ition. 


*  I  have  heard  since,  thai  ruit  hein.i,'-  ahle  to  i;et  Irish  [)riests,  lie  has 
got  some  Italians. 


l6o  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

I  said  that  I  had  no  particular  business,  except  to  pay 
my  respects;  and  I  would  not  return  any  more,  because 
on  the  morrow,  before  noon,  I  expected  to  sail. 

Next  morning  I  went  to  church ;  there  I  found 
again  the  good  Dr.  Cani,  V^icar-General,  who  asked  me 
whether  I  had  seen  the  Bishop?  I  said.  No.  He  got 
frightened,  thinking  that  I  wanted  to  say  Mass,  but  I 
soon  relieved  him  from  his  embarrassment,  observing 
that  I  wanted  nothing  either  from  him  or  from  his  lord- 
ship ;  but  as  in  a  little  more  than  one  hour  I  was  to  sail 
upon  a  long  and  perilous  voyage,  and  perhaps  I  would  not 
meet  with  any  priest,  I  would  like  to  make  m}'  confes- 
sion, and  if  he  had  no  faculties,  I  could  give  him  faculty 
to  hear  me — this  privilege  having  been  granted  to  me 
when  there  was  no  other  priest  to  be  had,  and  no  copia 
confcssarii.  He  apologized,  repeating  again  that  they 
were  merely  servants  !  I  knew  that  thc\'  were  slaves 
afraid  of  the  whip.  This  is  the  reason  wh\-  a  large 
number  refused  to  submit  to  this  humiliation  and  left. 
What  degradation  of  priesthood  !  Christ  said  to  them, 
''  Vos  aniici  mci  cs/is"  ('}'ou  are  m}'  friends).  Na\-,  He 
expressly  refused  to  call  them  ser\'ants,  "' A'lr;;/  dico  vos 
servos  "  (I  will  not  call  you  servantsi. 

In  hearing  Mass  at  the  cathedral  I  observed  that  the 
boy  who  served  Mass,  and  who  appeared  to  me  to  be 
at  least  fourteen  \-ears  old,  ^\■as  naked  from  the  feet  to 
the  legs  over  the  knee.  Whether  he  had  shoes  1  do 
not  remember,  but  if  he  had,  the\'  must  ha\'e  been 
mere  apologies.  It  reminded  me  of  what  I  had  read  in 
a  catechism  in  the  Mioiiac  language,  to  the  Indians  of 
Nova  Scotia,  in  the  time  of  l'~r.  Mainard.  It  read  thus: 
"When  you  go  to  Communion  \-ou  must  wear  some 
clothes,  if  you  have  any." 

About  noon  we  assembled  at  the  wharf  to  embark  on 
the  tender  to  go  on  board  the  Bowcn,  which  lay  waiting 


A  LUCKY  MISTAKE.  l6l 

for  us  fifteen  miles  down  the  bay.  I  was  tired  of 
Brisbane,  where,  notwitlistanding  the  festival  of  the 
birthday  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  celebrated  by  picnics 
and  excursions,  I  was  annoyed  by  the  heat,  dust,  and 
mosquitoes,  and  by  puddles  of  deep  mire. 

On  board  the  tender  Ave  related  our  experience  in 
Brisbane.  Captain  Miller,  who  had  recommended  me 
to  go  to  the  Hotel  of  the  Empress,  as  the  best  in  town, 
and  where  he  went  himself,  stated  that  during  the 
night  he  felt  some  little  things  creeping  on  him  in  bed  ; 
he  got  up  and  tried  his  best  to  rest  on  the  floor,  but 
with  very  poor  success.  By  good  luck  I  mistook  the 
hotel,  and  instead  of  going  to  the  Empress  I  proceeded 
to  the  Qticois  Hotel;  there  my  experience  in  the 
night  was  all  that  it  should  be,  and  without  little  things 
to  disturb  my  rest.  I  can  not  complain  of  my  fare,  and 
I  was  at  liberty  to  blacken  my  shoes  myself.  Woe  to 
the  man  who  came  a  little  too  late  at  meals ! 

It  is  intended  to  lay  a  cable  from  Brisbane  to  New- 
Caledonia,  and  to  extend  it  to  the  Fiji  Islands.  I 
learned  also  that  there  is  a  project  on  the  tapis  to  have 
a  French  line  of  steamers  to  New  Caledonia. 

Nearing  Moreton  Bay  wc  could  sec  the  Australian 
steamer  Jhnucn  waiting  for  us.  The  smoke  from  her 
funnel  gave  signal  that  the  hour  of  departure  at  I  P.M. 
was  approaching.  The  weather  was  splendid  ;  the  sea  a 
perfect  calm. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CORAL  SEA SOMERSET COUNT  ALBERTIS MISSIONARY  SHIP MOTHER- 
OF-PEARL  FISHERY  —  NEW  GUINEA — STORY  ABOUT  MEN  WITH  TAILS 
THE    MOLUCCAS  — SINC,  A  POKE. 

Now  is  the  most  pleasant  and  most  dangerous  part 
of  this  vo\-age.  It  is  the  most  pleasant  because  the 
ship  sails  the  whole  time  through  a  land-locked  sea,  and 
always  in  sight  of  land.  It  is  the  most  dangerous  on 
account  of  the  great  barrier  of  coral,  which  extends  for 
nearly  2,000  miles  toward  Torres'  Straits;  the  sea  be- 
tween the  eastern  coast  of  .Australia  and  this  barrier  is 
called  coral  sea.  It  requires  a  special  pilot  to  steer  the 
ship.  W'e  were  surprised  at  the  many  and  different 
orders  \vhich  the  pilot  gave  to  the  man  at  the  wheel ; 
sometimes  they  were  changed  every  four  or  five  min- 
utes. The  steamer  must  anchor  every  night.  No  sail- 
ing vessels  can  navigate  this  sea  ;  they  must  go  outside 
of  this  coral  barrier.  Notwithstanding  all  these  pre- 
cautions, se\x'ral  steamers  have  been  wrecked  in  this 
sea  ;  and,  what  is  worse,  this  line  of  steam.ships  does  not 
seem  to  keep  life-preser\'ers,  at  least  there  were  none  in 
this  boat.  There  were  two  compasses,  one  se\-cral  feet 
higher  up,  and  at  some  distance  from  the  other,  and 
the  officers  were  couitinually  comparing  their  direction. 
They  had  also  some  instruments  not  usualK-  carried  br- 
other steamers,  used  to  obser\-e  the  setting  of  the  sun. 
The  first-class  passengers  were  (Hily  one  dozen.  Two 
second-class  passengers.  (3ver  one  hundred  Chinese  oc 
(163J 


A   SICK  PRIEST.  163 

cupied  the  steerage.    We  passed  Trinity  Bay,  so  named 
because  entered  by  Captain  Cook  on  Trinity  Sunday. 

Early  next  morning  we  rounded  Eraser's  Island, 
where  there  are  many  natives.  This  island  bears  the 
name  of  a  lady,  who,  in  a  shipwreck,  saved  herself 
there,  from  which  she  was  rescued  after  many  years. 
In  the  afternoon  we  passed  Lady  Eliot's  Island.  It 
would  be  a  tedious  thing  to  record  all  the  rocky,  sav- 
age, romantic,  uninhabited,  and  solitary  islands  which 
are  passed  on  this  truly  interesting  route. 

Saturday,  at  half-past  six  A.M.,  we  entered  a  large 
bay  under  a  deluge  of  rain.  This  is  called  Port  Deni- 
son  (or  Bowen),  a  village  of  no  more  than  2,000  inhab- 
itants. The  steamer  stopped  about  one  hour  down  the 
bay,  for  the  tender  from  the  village  to  shift  mail  and 
take  or  bring  passengers.  The  tender  brought  only 
one  passenger,  and  we  left  immediately  for  Townville, 
which  we  reached  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day, 
and  after  taking  the  mail  and  a  passenger,  the  Boivcn 
steered  for  Cook's  Town.  We  rounded  Cape  Tribula- 
tion and  Weary  Bay,  so  called  by  Captain  Cook,  be- 
cause here  his  ship  Endeavour  got  on  a  reef,  and  he 
had  a  hard  time  to  save  and  free  it  from  the  coral 
rocks,  yet  he  succeeded  in  dragging  the  injured  vessel 
to  a  bay  and  little  river  forty  miles  north,  where  he 
stopped  some  time  for  repairs.  Merc  we  observed  that 
the  sea-water  was  very  thick  with  fish-spawn,  which 
shows  the  large  cjuantitics  of  fish  that  must  exist  in 
these  waters.  The  sharks  here  are  colossal  and  abun- 
dant.  Last  night  we  crossed  the  sun.  After  dinner  I 
found  (jn  board  the  j)astor  of  Townville,  Rev.  J.  V.  M. 
Conncjlly,  who  had  been  telegraphed  by  Rev.  V.  AIc- 
Donough  from  Cook's  Town,  to  pre])are  him  for  death, 
as  he  was  lying  very  ill  from  fever  contracted  in  the 
gold-fields,  where  he  had  been  to  say  Mass.    I  was  very 


164  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

glad  of  the  good  pastor's  company,  and  as  there  were 
no  state-rooms  vacant  I  told  the  steward  to  put  him  in 
my  state-room,  w^iere  there  was  a  vacant  berth.  Here 
I  had  a  capital  opportunity  to  learn  many  things  about 
the  aborigines. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  Bowcn  had  cast  anchor  in 
Cook's  Town  Bay.  This  is  the  bay  where  Captain 
Cook  entered  to  repair  his  ship  Eiidcavoiir ;  the  town 
on  this  bay  is  named  Cook's  Town  after  him,  and  the 
little  river  is  called  Endeavor  River,  because  there  his 
ship  Ejidcavour  was  repaired.  All  the  passengers 
landed,  and  I,  together  with  Father  Connolly,  and  a 
French  passenger  (but  native  of  England)  from  Xumea, 
New  Caledonia,  went  to  sec  Father  P.  McDonough, 
whom  we  were  pleased  to  find  out  of  danger.  I  went 
to  church  and  celebrated  Mass.  The  church  is  a  small, 
new,  frame  building.  The  school-children  every  day 
say  the  catechism.  After  Mass  we  took  breakfast  at 
Father  McDonough's.  This  }'oung  and  zealous  mis- 
sionary has  ruined  his  health,  laboring  very  hard  in  the 
unhealthy  field  of  his  very  extensive  mission,  which 
lies  under  the  tropics.  He  fell  insensible  from  horse- 
back, under  the  blazing  rays  of  the  sun  at  noon.  I 
am  afraid  that  poor  Father  McDonough  was  sun-struck. 
I  fear  that  he  can  not  stay  long  in  this  mission.  After 
seeing  the  town,  to  do  \\'hich  did  not  take  much  time, 
and  after  ha\'ing  ])urchased  some  watermelons  for  tweh'e 
cents,  at  noon  ^\•c  returned  on  board. 

Three  da}'s  ago,  a  boat  manned  by  three  men  was 
sent  ashore  in  this  bay  to  procure  water  for  a  vessel. 
One  man  was  watching  while  the  other  two  were  taking 
water.  The  boat  was  discovered  b\'  the  natives,  who 
speared  the  three  men,  one  perhaps  mortal!}'.  Not 
long  ago  they  captured  a  Chinaman,  took  him  into  the 
interior  of  the  woods,  and  ate  him.     Some  days  after, 


CANNIBALS. 


165 


several  Chinese  and  some  white  men  went  in  search  of 
him,  and  in  the  woods  they  found  his  hands  and  skull, 
and  a  little  further  off  they  found  some  more  white 
hands. 

In  the  afternoon  we  sailed  for  Somerset,  the  last  set- 
tlement in  Albany  Island  in  Torres'  Straits.  The 
weather  was  charming^,  but  hot,  and  the  sea  like  glass. 
W'e  turned  a  large  promontory,  which  relates  to  navi- 
gators a  sad,  sad  story.  i\  ship  called  the  Maria,  from 
Sydney,  was  going  to  New  Guinea  on  an  exploring  ex- 
pedition ;  she  was  wrecked  here.  All  hands  could  have 
been  saved,  but  they  were  all  eaten  by  the  natives,  who 
are  very  numerous  in  the  interior  of  this  part  of  Australia. 
Here  the  natives  are  small  and  sickly  because  badly  fed 
and  clothed.  In  a  large  island  off  the  coast,  and  even 
in  the  interior,  some  men  and  women  wear  a  kind  of 
shirt,  which  hardly  reaches  the  belly.  Sometimes  they 
apjDroach  a  village  to  do  some  little  work,  but  before 
commencing  they  ask  something  to  eat,  saying  that 
they  feel  too  weak.  After  eating  they  promise  to  re- 
turn in  a  little  while  to  work,  but  you  never  sec  them 
again.  They  are  extremely  lazy.  They  help  at  landing 
passengers  and  baggage.  Being  naked,  or  \\'earing  that 
kind  of  shirt  already  alluded  to,  they  make  a  very  funny 
show,  especially  before  ladies.  If  they  work,  e.  »;.,  saw- 
ing wood  and  such  like,  they  labor  just  sufficiently  to 
procure  some  li(]uor,  and  quit  work  at  once;  you  can 
not  induce  an\'  of  them  to  work  any  longer,  either  for 
love  or  for  nionex'.  Missionaries  are  endeavoring  to 
ci\'ili/.e  and  coinert  these  ])e()ple,  but  with  poor  en- 
couragement. 

Our  \'o\'age  to  Somerset  was  fme  and  very  pleasant. 
We  enjo\"ecl  the  pictures(|ue  views  of  the  coast  and  isl- 
ands, turning  c)ccasional!\',  as  we  did,  zigzag,  to  avoid 
shoals  or  reefs.      In  many  places  there   were  signals  to 


1 66  A    TOUK  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

mark  the  depth  of  the  water.  This  makes  the  voyage 
longer,  but  more  pleasant,  because  the  scenery  changes 
continually.  Sometimes  we  discovered  islands  with 
mountains  whose  summits  seemed  to  reach  the  sky; 
sometimes  the  islands  were  Hat  and  bare  ;  others  ap- 
peared to  have  one  or  two  huts ;  others  to  possess  but 
a  few  cocoanut  trees;  while  others  again  were  covered 
with  thick  woods.  Ducks  and  sea-birds  were  without 
number,  and  in  the  Torres'  Straits,  pigeons  could  be 
observed  in  clouds.  We  passed  Cape  York,  the  north- 
ern extremity  of  the  ^Vustralian  continent,  and  entered 
Torres'  Straits.  The  heat  was  very  great,  and  for  this 
reason  we  were  obliged  to  take  all  our  meals  on  deck, 
where,  under  canvas,  a  proper  dining-table  was  set 
three  times  a  day. 

On  the  1 6th  we  rounded  a  great  promontory  near 
Albany  Island.  As  the  water  was  very  deep  the 
steamer  passed  close  to  the  shore,  and  we  could  see 
half  a  dozen  of  natives  assembled  under  some  trees. 
They  were  black,  naked,  and  provided  with  spears  ;  )'ct 
they  committed  no  hostilities.  They  were  looking  at 
us.  Perhaps  they  thought  that  \ve  would  go  to  see 
them.  When  we  anchored  at  the  Ba}"  of  Somerset, 
which  was  one  hour  afterward  the  same  day,  none  of 
us  had  any  desire  to  see  them. 

In  the  bay  I  found  a  Count  .Vlbertis,  who  had  just  ar- 
rived from  New  Guinea,  and  the  missionary  ship  that 
had  just  returned  from  a  vo\age  of  discoxery  in  the 
New  Britain  and  New  Ireland  groups  of  islands  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  New  (juinea,  hence  I  had  the  best  op- 
portunities for  learning  the  true  and  veritable  condition 
of  the  natives.  These  are  the  only  localities  where 
men  having  a  tail  are  said  to  be  found.  I'he  following 
are  the  words  of  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  \\'esle\-an  missionary 
in  the  islands  of  New  Britain  and  New  Ireland  : 


PEOPLE   WITH  TAILS.  1 67 

"  The  natives  in  BlaiicJic  Bay  affirm  most  positively 
the  existence  of  a  race  of  men  with  tails,  at  a  place 
called  Kalili.  They  deny  most  indignantly  the  sup- 
position that  they  must  be  monkeys,  asking  if  monkeys 
fight  with  spears,  plant  yams,  make  houses,  etc.,  etc. 
They  say  that  the  appendage  is  hard  and  inflexible,  so 
much  so,  that  they  have  to  dig  a  hole  in  the  sand  be- 
fore they  can  sit  down,  as  they  die  at  once  if  the  tail  is 
broken.  They  also  say  that  any  child  born  without 
this  appendage  is  destroyed  for  fear  it  should  be  ridi- 
culed when  grown-up."  [X.B. — Mr.  Brown  only  tells 
the  story  as  it  was  told  to  him].  These  are  the  words 
of  the  companions  of  Mr.  Brown  :  "As  we  could  never 
get  to  see  a  specimen,  or  even  get  a  guide  to  show  us 
the  place,  the  natives  always  professed  to  be  too 
frightened  to  go,  though  they  say  that  they  will  yet 
waylay  one  of  them,  and  bring  him  to  convince  us  un- 
believing white  men." 

The  Sydney  Morning  Herald  of  Thursday,  October 
12,  1876,  speaking  on  this  subject,  says:  "Rev.  Mr. 
Brown,  in  a  letter  from  Blanche  Bay  on  Henderson's 
Island  (Matupi,  New  Ireland)  makes  some  curiously 
interesting  statements- — the  supposed  existence  of  a 
race  of  dwarfs  with  immovable  caudal  appendages. 
The  stories  told  by  the  nati\es  respecting  these  curious 
beings  have  )-et  to  be  confirmed." 

Count  Albertis- — who  can  bu  said  to  ha\e  been  the 
first  and  the  only  individual  w  lio,  with  his  men,  for  four 
or  five  years  exj)lored  New  (iuinea,  and  especially  the 
eastern  C(jast  where  these  curious  beings  with  the  tails 
are  re{)orted  to  exist  --denies  that  there  are  any  such  peo- 
ple, but  asserts  them  to  be  m()nke}'s.  On  the  contrary, 
he  said  to  me  that  on  the  eastern  coast  of  New  (luinca 
there  are  villages  inhabited  b\'  a  class  of  nati\  es  supe- 
rior to  those  living  in   the   interior   and  western    part  of 


1 68  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

New  Guinea.  This  is  just  what  I  was  told  by  those 
CathoHc  missionaries,  who  for  some  years  had  been 
living  in  New  Guinea,  but  on  account  of  the  pestilen- 
tial condition  of  the  place  they  had  been  compelled  to 
quit  it.  They  told  me  that  they  had  heard  the  same 
story  related  by  the  natives. 

Count  Albertis,  an  Italian,  born  of  a  noble  and 
w^ealthy  Genoese  family,  has  undertaken  the  explora- 
tion of  New  Guinea  at  his  own  expense.  The  Italian 
Government  gave  him  a  small  steamer,  and  the  colony 
of  New  South  Wales  gave  him  another  small  craft,  to- 
gether with  some  other  assistance.  The  Count  had 
been  laid  down  with  fever,  and  his  sallow,  sickly  face 
told  me  of  his  sickly  condition.  Most  of  his  men  were 
down  with  fever.  He  related  to  me  that  the  island  was 
sickly.  The  general  appearance  of  the  country  is  low 
and  swampy;  in  the  interior  there  are  high  mountains 
and  rich  vegetation,  but  these  are  surrounded  by  lagoons 
and  low  lands  covered  by  swamp  grass  and  scanty  vegeta- 
tion. One  part  of  the  country  is  hilly  ;  the  highest  hill 
ascends  about  225  feet,  and  it  is  covered  with  beautiful 
vegetation.  He  added  that  he  had  already  collected 
five  hundred  words,  from  which  he  expected  to  find  out 
whether  the  primitive  original  natives  belonged  to  the 
black  or  to  the  yellow  race.  The  present  Papuas  spring 
from  the  mixture  of  both  races,  and  they,  together  with 
the  natives  of  New  Britain  and  New  Ireland,  are  canni- 
bals. He  had  gat-hcrcd  collections  in  the  three  branches 
of  natural  history,  but  these  objects  were  very  scarce. 

Some  of  the  villages,  he  continued,  consisted  only  of 
one,  or  very  few  houses,  which  the  natives  deserted  at 
the  approach  of  the  whites.  Occasionally  canoes  of 
hostile  natives  put  in  an  appearance,  but  as  soon  as 
the  whites  move  toward  them  the  canoes  paddle  away. 
Some  arrows  were  fired  at  us  from  a  village,  a  compli. 


CAPTAIN  AND  MRS.   CHESTER.  i5q 

ment  returned  by  a  few  shots.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
found  interesting  birds,  insects,  and  fishes,  and  that  he 
preserved  a  good  number  of  specimens  of  plants,  both 
dried  and  living.  The  mineral  collection  is  not  rich, 
but  perhaps  enough  to  give  an  idea  of  the  formation  of 
the  country  and  its  fertility.  The  people  probably  be- 
long to  the  race  inhabiting  the  east  of  the  great  island 
still  retaining  the  usages  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  East 
in  dress,  implements,  houses,  etc.  They  exist  by  fish- 
ing and  hunting,  and  cultivating  bananas,  taro,  and  to- 
bacco ;  probably  some  trading  is  done  with  southern 
tribes,  by  exchanging  tobacco  for  shells.  Mother-of- 
pearl  shells  are  used  by  the  natives  for  adornments. 
Count  Albcrtis  said  that  he  had  seen  some  very  light- 
colored  people.  lie  added,  also,  that  it  is  very  difficult 
to  get  food  from  the  natives ;  the  food  consisting  sim- 
ply of  bananas  and  taro  ;  his  men  on  more  than  one 
occasion  had  to  fight  with  the  natives  to  get  food. 

This  is  just  what  the  missionaries  who  left  New 
Guinea  told  me  in  Australia.  "The  natives  refused  to 
give  us  food,  even  by  paying  well  for  it.  They  were 
saying,  '  If  you  want  to  eat,  like  us,  \'ou  must  go  swim- 
ming and  catch  fish,  and  you  must  hunt  as  \vc  do.' "_ 
Count  Albertis  concluded  that  an  Italian  colony  could 
be  planted  there.  Rice,  cotton,  and  hemp  could  be 
raised  with  great  facility.  Tobacco  would  grow  well, 
and  by  cultivation  New  Guinea  could  be  rendered  a 
rich  island. 

When  Count  Albcrtis  boarded  the  lun^'cii  there  came 
also  some  of  the  missionaries  from  the  missionar\' steam- 
er/v6i/,'rr  IViiiiains.  Captain  Henry  M.  Chester,  P.M., 
having  learned  that  I  was  a  priest,  gave  me  an  invita- 
tion tf)  go  to  his  lionic.  "  My  wife,"  sa)'s  he,  "  is  Cath- 
olic, and  comes  from  England.  She  would  like  very 
much   to   see  \-()U.      .Slie    is   \ery  lonesome    \\\   lliis  wild 


I/O 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


solitude,  destitute  of  every  kind  of  civilization.  My 
boat  is  here,  at  your  disposal.  You  will  find  my  men 
on  shore,  who  will  conduct  you  to  my  residence.  I 
will  go  now  on  shore,  give  the  necessary  orders,  and 
return  on  board."  1  promised  to  go  in  the  afternoon. 
He  was  postmaster,  and  I  believe  that  he  was  also  col- 
lector of  customs. 

I  induced  an  English  gentleman,  who  was  a  passenger  l 
with  us,  to  accompany  me  ;  and  at  2  P.M.  we  landed. 
Somerset  can  not  even  be  called  a  village  ;  it  is  only  a 
slope  of  a  ridge  of  Cape  York.  There  are  only  seven 
buildings,  including  the  headquarters  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society.  There  are  four  policemen  and  a 
post-office  and  custom-house.  A  Chinaman  raises  a  few 
vegetables  on  the  rock. 

Captain  Chester's  house  was  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  and 
commanded  the  view  of  the  entire  bay.  The  dwelling 
was  a  large,  spacious,  and  half-rotten  building.  Mrs. 
Chester  is  an  intelligent,  well-educated  lady.  We  sat 
in  the  portico,  and  were  treated  to  coffee  and  sweet- 
meats. She  was  complaining  of  this  miserable  place, 
altogether  out  of  the  world.  But  her  fear  was  of  the 
natives,  who  any  night  could  murder  them  and  set  fire 
to  the  buildings.  Although  every  house  was  provided 
abundantly  with  every  description  of  arms,  yet  there 
are  not  men  enough  in  that  little  settlement  to  protect 
the  village.  The  woods  are  about  three  or  four  rods 
from  the  premises,  and  in  those  woods  there  are  natives 
who  sometimes  come  as  near  as  the  barn,  but  they  are 
afraid  of  the  fire-arms,  which  are  exposed  to  their  sight. 
Her  house  is  an  armory,  and  she  never  sleei)s  without 
the  presence  of  her  husband  or  two  sons.  She  led  us 
over  the  entire  house,  and  laid  bare  the  destruction 
done  by  the  famous  white  ants.  She  showed  to  us  how 
they  had  eaten  the  interior  of  planks,  joists,  poles,  etc., 


ASSASSINATION  OF  DR.   JAMES.  j-i 

although  the  outside  appeared  sound.  Mrs.  Chester 
produced  us  a  leg  of  mutton  Hterally  covered  with 
white  ants,  upon  which  these  insects  descended  from 
the  roof.  That  mutton  was  to  be  used  on  the  morrow 
by  the  family  of  Captain  Chester.  There  is  no  remedy 
against  these  ants.  The  only  consolation  left  to  Mrs. 
Chester  lay  in  the  fact,  that  in  one  month  she  was  to 
move  to  Thursday  Island,  about  fifty  miles  toward 
Torres'  Straits.  The  Government  has  abolished  this 
station  and  post-office.  Being  still  further  separated 
from  the  continent,  the\' will  be  more  free -from  an)- 
danger  on  the  part  of  the  natives. 

She  showed  to  us  the  many  natural  and  native  curi- 
osities that  were  collected  there ;  amongst  the  other 
things,  the  fatal  spear  that  killed  Dr.  James,  of  Boston, 
in  New  Guinea.  This  spear  was  over  six  feet  long  and 
of  a  native  hard  wood  ;  the  barbs  v.ere  a  little  wider  than 
an  inch,  and  constructed  in  such  a  manner,  that  to  remove 
them  from  the  body  of  Dr.  James  it  was  necessary  to 
cut  the  flesh.  This  melancholy  tragedy  took  place  <m 
the  23d  of  August,  this  year,  in  the  following  manner: 

Dr.  James  lately  had  joined  Mr.  Chas.  Shomgren,  who 
owned  a  boat  called  Majii,  and  the\'  had  gone  together 
in  this  boat  to  the  mainland  opposite  Yule  Island  with 
a  crew  of  seven  natives  of  the  islands  in  Torres'  Straits. 
Captain  Chester,  well  acquainted  with  the  manners  of 
these  cannibals,  had  warned  them,  saying:  "  If  natives 
come  to  you  before  da\-light  the)'  come  t(^  murder  )'()u. 
They  want  to  surprise  )'ou,  knowing  that  you  are  asleep 
and  in  the  ileepest  part  of  sleep,  hire  on  them  w  itlunit 
dela)'.  If  they  come  b)-  da)light  after  the  rising  of  the 
sun,  they  come  to  trade."  Notwithstanding  this  warn- 
ing from  Captain  Chester,  just  before  da)'light  two  ca- 
noes full  (jf  New  (iuineamen  were  seen  approaching 
the  boat.      The   crew  called   Shomgren,  and    isked   for 


1/2 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


fire-arms,  but  he,  thinking  they  were  merely  coming  to 
trade,  refused  to  give  them.  While  Dr.  James  and 
Shomgren  were  trading,  a  native  suddenly  struck  the 
latter  with  a  club,  smashing  his  skull  and  knocking  him 
overboard.  Dr.  James  shot  one  man  with  his  revolver, 
but  was  almost  immediately  thrust  through  with  a  spear 
and  killed.  The  boat's  crew  got  their  guns,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  beating  off  their  assailants  after  two  of  their 
number  had  been  speared,  and  about  ten  of  the  New 
Guinea  natives  had  been  shot.  They  dived  for  the 
body  of  Shomgren,  but  the  water  being  muddy,  they 
were  unable  to  recover  it.  They  then  got  under  weigh, 
and  that  evening  buried  the  body  of  Dr.  James  on  a 
sand-bank.  The  boat  arrived  at  Somerset  on  the  6th 
of  September.  Captain  Chester  took  an  inventory  of 
eveiything  belonging  to  these  unfortunate  gentlemen 
in  Somerset.  The  will  and  letters  of  Dr.  James  were 
found,  and  sent  to  his  relatives  in  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, U.  S.  A.,  and  their  effects  were  sold  at  auction. 
In  the  evening  the  tide  was  very  low,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  take  off  our  shoes  and  stockings  and  lift 
up  our  trowsers  in  order  to  reach  the  boat,  and  so  go  on 
board  the  steamer. 

In  the  evening  the  captain  of  the  Boiocn  and  some 
passengers  went  shooting,  and  as  they  could  not  get 
any  Torres  Straits'  pigeons,  brought  a  good  mess  of 
oysters,  which  they  gathered  from  the  shores  and  rocks 
at  low  tide.  These  luscious  bivalves  were  small,  yet 
good,  but  the  brassy  taste  unhappily  prevailed.  A  vessel 
arrived  here  carrying  a  large  number  of  natives  from 
the  Philippine,  Ladrones,  and  Caroline  Islands.  As  she 
had  no  papers,  the  vessel  was  seized  and  was  to  be  con- 
fiscated, on  the  supposition  that  the  natives  had  been 
kidnapped. 

Next  morning,  as  the  Boiooi  was  to  sail  for  Torres' 


^IWIS^^ 


'^ 


"^ 


PEAKL  FISHER  V. 


173 


Straits  and  the  Moluccas,  Count  Albertis  caused  a  large 
quantity  of  provisions  to  be  conveyed  to  his  men  who 
were  in  a  starving  condition  in  New  Guinea,  and  who 
were  obliged  to  fight  with  the  natives  in  order  to  get 
food.  The  special  pilot  here  left  the  boat,  as  the 
danger  was  over,  and  the  captain  could  manage  the 
ship  by  himself.  The  pilot  was  to  wait  for  the  steamer 
Somerset  of  the  same  line,  returning  from  China,  to 
pilot  her  to  Brisbane.  There  was  a  boat  going  to  the 
Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  to  the  pearl  fishery.  She  was 
tugged  by  the  Boivcii  as  far  as  Cape  York.  The  Gulf 
of  Carpentaria  has  several  pearl-banks,  that  is,  mother- 
of-pearl  oyster  shells,  which  cluster  in  great  numbers, 
and  are  found  on  rocks  in  the  depths  of  the  sea.  To 
collect  these  shells  is  the  business  of  divers,  brought  up 
to  this  most  dangerous  occupation  from  early  youth. 
They  descend  from  their  boat  with  a  rope  fastened 
round  their  body,  and  a  stone  of  twenty  or  thirty 
pounds  weight  attached  to  the  foot  to  sink  them. 
Generally  they  descend  from  eight  to  twelve  fathoms 
before  they  reach  the  shells.  Their  nostrils  and  ears 
are  stopped  up  with  cotton  ;  a  sponge,  dipped  in  oil,  is 
fastened  to  the  arm,  which  the  diver  now  and  then 
brings  to  his  mouth,  in  order  to  draw  breath  without 
swallowing  water.  Every  diver  has,  in  addition,  a 
knife,  to  loosen  the  shells,  and  a  basket  to  put  them 
into.  When  he  becomes  unable  to  remain  any  longer 
under  water,  he  rapidly  unlooses  the  stone,  shakes  the 
line,  and  is  drawn  u])  by  his  companions.  These  divers 
are  often  destro)'cd  by  sharks.  (Jther  divers  use  the 
diving-bell. 

We  passed  some  ver\-  fine  islands,  and  after  rounding 
Thursday  Island,  where  the  ( jovernment  has  nearly 
finished  the  buildings  for  the  accommodation  f)f  the 
little   settlement  at    SouK'rset,  we   sighted    Albany  on 


i74 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


Torres'  Straits.  We  passed  close  to  Booby  Island, 
once  a  post-offiee  in  Torres'  Straits,  where  vessels  de- 
posited letters  and  papers,  which  were  to  be  taken  by 
other  passing  ships  and  carried  whithersoever  they 
might  be  directed,  in  the  same  manner  as  another  isl- 
and in  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  between  the  Terra  del 
Fuego  and  Patagonia  in  South  America,  was  used  for  a 
post-office. 

The  steamer  now  took  the  direction  of  the  Arafura 
Sea.  It  is  so  named  after  the  aborigines  of  the  Moluccas, 
who  are  called  Harafoes,  or  Alfores.  The  sea  between 
the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  in  Australia,  and  Cape  W'alasch 
in  New  Guinea,  was  very  rough  ;  I  was  sea-sick  nearly 
all  day.  Although  the  track  of  the  European  and  Aus- 
tralian line  of  steamers  is  marked  to  run  south  of  the 
Arafura  Sea,  round  Port  Essington  across  the  Gulf  of 
Carpentaria  in  Australia,  north  of  the  Bathurst  Island 
in  Melanesia,  then  cross  the  Sunda  Isles  between  Java 
and  Bali  (called  Eittle  Java")  through  the  narrow  pass- 
age, called  the  Straits  of  Bali,  yet  they  find  it  more 
convenient,  when  near  Timor  Land,  to  cross  the  Ara- 
fura Sea,  leave  the  Moluccas  and  the  Moluccas  Sea,  and 
steer  toward  Timor  Island.  We  passed  close  south  of 
Moa  Island.  The  natives  were  bathing  and  swimming, 
and  could  be  seen  very  plainly.  Their  color  was  very 
dark.  The  island  was  rich  in  vegetation,  but  poorly 
cultivated.  Soon  after  midnight  we  heard  an  alarm, 
"Steamer  in  sight!"  We  rushed  on  deck  and  saw  a 
steamer  throwing  rockets,  and  signalling  with  blue 
lights.  The  Boivoi  answered  the  signals.  It  was  the 
Somerset,  another  ship  of  the  same  line  returning  from 
Hong-Kong  and  steering  for  Sydney.  Both  captains 
spoke.  The  captain  of  the  Somerset  wanted  to  come 
on  board,  and  the  Bozuen  was  stopped. 

The   night   was  dark,  yet  pleasant  and   calm.     The 


TIMOR  ISLAND.  1 75 

captain  and  some  other  officers  came  on  board,  and  they 
were  so  kind  as  to  bring  the  last  newspapers  from  Singa- 
pore. They  also  fetched  a  good  quantity  of  fresh  fruits, 
bananas,  pine-apples,  some  pomoloes  (shaddock),  and 
fresh  fish,  which  were  very  acceptable,  because  ours 
were  becoming  scarce.  After  some  time  passed  in  ex- 
changing news,  the  cai)tain  left,  and  we  continued  our 
course. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  sighted  the  luxuriant  island 
of  Timor,  which  is  the  largest  and  most  southern  of  the 
Moluccas.  We  passed  very  close  to  the  shore,  and 
rounded  the  north-east  portion  of  it,  which  belongs  to 
the  Portuguese;  but  now  the  entire  island  is  under  the 
flag  of  that  nation.  The  island  \\\atta  lay  very  near  at 
our  right,  and  we  observed  many  places  where  the 
Malays  had  built  fires  in  the  woods.  The  western  part, 
which  belonged  to  the  Dutch,  was  given  to  the  Portu- 
guese in  exchange  for  a  part  of  another  Molucca  isl- 
and which  belonged  to  the  Portuguese.  When  I  was  in 
Macao,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  inceting  two  Portuguese 
missionaries  who  had  been  obliged  to  leave  Timor  on 
account  of  fe\'er  which  they  had  contracted  there,  and 
whither  they  were  to  return  in  January.  The\'  related 
to  me  that  although  for  over  one  hundred  )'ears  the 
Catholic  missionaries  had  left  that  mission,  yet  the 
natives  continued  to  practice  the  Catholic  religion. 
When,  two  \'ears  ago,  the  Portuguese  priests  re-took 
that  mission,  they  found  thousands  of  Catholics  on  that 
island.  They  left  one  priest,  and  in  January  four  more 
missionaries  were  to  go  thither.  When  these  two  mis- 
sionaries returned  to  Macao,  they  brought  five  intelli- 
gent, very  young  nati\'c:s  to  be  educated  for  the  priest- 
hood in  the  seminary  of  Macao.  They  had  selected  an 
eminent  and  healtlu'  location  in  this  island  of  Timor, 
to  erect  a  church  and  house.      We  i)erceived  the  smoke 


176  A    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

of  the  volcano,  Tambura,  quietly  rolling  over  the 
hill-tops,  so  thickly  covered  with  primitive  forests  of 
the  wild  island  bearing  the  same  name.  But  here  our 
attention  was  attracted  by  a  large  school  of  porpoises 
of  immense  size  sporting  close  upon  our  lee. 

The  Bowcii  now  crossed  Flores  Sea  and  approached 
the  Dutch  Island  of  Flores,  abounding  in  spices,  wild 
cinnamon,  and  other  \-aluablc  plants.  This  island  is  also 
famous  for  its  quantity  of  birds  and  tortoises.  The 
capital  of  Mores  is  Laaurantooka.  The  Bcnvcn  passed 
between  two  islands;  that  at  our  right  is  called  Tiger 
Island ;  and  our  course  now  was  between  the  large  isl- 
ands Sambawa  and  Celebes.  The  Dutch  nation  has 
had  a  long  and  difficult  war  with  the  Queen  of  the  lat- 
ter island,  and  la}-s  the  flattering  unction  to  its  soul 
that  it  is  Dutch  property,  but  such  is  not  the  case  ;  al- 
though for  peace  sake  the  Queen  is  expected  to  pay  a 
kind  of  tribute.  Tiic  Dutch  nation  pretends  to  possess 
many  of  these  islands,  but  the  possession  is  only  on  the 
map.  It  pretends  even  to  have  a  claim  on  a  part  of 
New  Guinea,  but  that  is  likewise  on  paper. 

The  principal  establishment  of  the  Dutch  on  the  isl- 
and of  Celebes  is  Macassar  (or  l^ony),  said  to  contain 
90,000  inhabitants.  The  town  is  large  ;  the  houses  are 
built  on  piles,  and  ver\'  high  from  the  ground,  the  most 
of  them  accessible  only  by  ladders  or  piles,  to  guard 
against  inundation,  'i'he  coiintr}-  around  is  beautiful, 
but  the  town  is  situated  on  a  neck,  or  point  of  land,  at 
the  mouth  of  a  rix'cr,  which  forms  a  hai'bor,  with  water 
enough  for  a  ship  to  come  within  cannon-shot  of  the 
walls.  Macassar  is  protected  by  Fort  Rotterdam.  This 
island  is  rich  not  onh'  in  spices,  cotton,  rice,  etc.,  but  in 
gold,  silver,  diamonds,  and  other  minerals.  The  cattle 
are  large  and  abundant ;  but  notwithstanding  the  preten- 
sions of  the  Dutch,  and  their  little  establishments,  the 


MACASSAJ?. 


^77 


principal  part  of  the  commerce  goes  into  the  hands  of 
the  Chinese.  The  nativ^es  are  strong,  stout,  vigorous,- and 
industrious;  they  are  divided  into  several  monarchical 
States.  The  entire  population  is  about  3,000,000.  There 
is  a  steamer  from  Macassar  to  Singapore,  touching  at 
Rhio  and  Mintock,  with  the  monthly  mails;  and  on 
arrival  of  the  overland  mail,  and  7'icc  versa,  there  is  a 
steamer  for  Macassar  and  the  Moluccas.  Sambawa  is 
a  large  island,  thickly  populated,  and  has  an  extensive 
commerce  with  Europe  in  rice,  cotton,  tobacco,  and  not 
only  in  the  productions  of  the  Sunda  Islands,  but  also 
in  bees-wax  and  sulphur.  The  city  of  Sambawa,  on  the 
north-east  side  of  the  island,  has  an  excellent  harbor. 
The  volcano  on  this  island  was  throwing  pillars  of 
smoke  on  the  clear,  calm  atmosphere.  A  sailing  ves- 
sel, supposed  to  be  Dutch,  was  coasting  this  island, 
called  also  Sainbaraiva.  We  could  discover  at  a  dis- 
tance of  eighty  miles  the  majestic  volcanic  fire  Bali 
1,100  feet  high,  on  the  island  of  the  same  name,  at 
whose  foot  the  city  of  Carang-Assem  is  located,  in  a  fer- 
tile and  well-cultivated  soil.  The  Bozvoi  neared  the 
luxuriant  and  beautiful  island  of  Lumbock,  whose 
mountains,  loaded  with  excellent  and  valuable  timber, 
reach  a  height  of  1,080  feet. 

In  the  evening  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  third  officer,  who 
had  contracted  a  severe  cold,  which  rendered  him  not 
onl\-  unfit  for  dut\-,  but  confined  him  to  bed,  or  t(^  his 
rooin.  His  healtli  was  sliattered,  and  he  expected  to 
lea\'e  the  ship  at  Singai)(>re.  Tliis  I^uropean  and  Austra- 
lian line,  connecting  witli  the  I'.uropean  line  at  Singa])()i\:, 
is  very  trj-ing  on  the  officers  of  tlie  shij),  because  when  at 
one  end  of  the  vo\-agc  it  is  summer,  ancl  wlien  at  the  otlier 
en(.l,  it  is  winter,  and  vice  versa,  besides  crossing  the  line 
each  way  from  Sydney  to  llong-Kong,  hence  the  consti- 
tution is  continually  subjected  to  a  change  of  climate. 


178  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Wc  now  sighted  the  famous,  rich,  and  unhealthy  isl- 
land  of  Java,  the  most  of  which  belongs  to  Holland  ; 
two  small  parts  only  remain  to  the  original  owners. 
The  steamer  approached  the  north-east  end  of  it,  and 
after  rounding  some  small  islands,  we  went  near  the 
village  called  Sabiidi  (or  Sapiiti).  This  is  a  large  town, 
having  many  streets  and  houses.  The  natives  could  be 
distinctly  perceived,  and  the  house  of  the  Dutch  Gov- 
ernor was  pointed  out  to  us.  The  red,  large  roof  pro- 
nounced it  to  be  a  Dutch  dwelling.  Dutch  and  native 
vessels  could  be  seen  all  along  the  sea-shore,  which  was 
lively  with  natives  bathing  and  swimming.  The  steam- 
er having  rounded  a  promontory  of  Java,  took  the  di- 
rection of  Madura,  another  Dutch  large  island  on  our 
right,  whose  luxuriant  vegetation  was  sufficient  proof 
that  Madura  was  a  very  rich  island.  We  could  see 
many  houses  of  Samanap,  the  capital  of  the  island. 
The  inhabitants  number  about  9,000,  spread  through- 
out. Here  we  saw  a  good  number  of  catiDiiarans,  that 
is,  native  canoes,  consisting  of  three  pieces  of  wood 
lashed  together,  and  usually  manned  by  five  natives. 
Some  consisted  of  an  excavated  trunk  of  a  tree  in  the 
form  of  a  canoe,  and  balanced  by  two  large  poles,  one 
at  each  side,  and  by  short  pieces  of  wood,  well-secured 
to  the  canoe.     Some  of  them  had  large  sails. 

Having  sailed  along  the  entire  southern  shore  of  Ma- 
dura, wc  again  came  in  sight  of  Java.  This  island,  666 
miles  long,  and  from  36  to  135  wide,  has  a  population 
of  12,000,000  to  14,000,000  of  inhabitants,  principally 
belonging  to  three  races — natives,  MaL'U's,  and  Chinese. 
A  chain  of  high  and  volcanic  mountains,  some  12,000 
feet  high,  runs  through  the  whole  length.  There  arc  forty 
volcanoes,  but  all  extinct,  except  a  few  which  emit  smoke 
after  heavy  rains.  It  is  eminently  rich  in  rice,  coffee,  su- 
gar, spices,  etc.     Its  fruits  are  exquisite,  minerals  valu- 


J  A  VA—BA  TA  VIA .  I  ^g 

able,  cattle  abundant,  but  of  small  breed.  Ferocious  and 
poisonous  animals  are  very  numerous,  especially  the. 
black  tiger.  All  the  rivers  are  short ;  Solo  is  the  princi- 
pal. This  place  boasts  objects  of  antiquity.  The  ruins 
of  Brcrvc-Biilvcr,\\\\<ixc2i^xc^.\.  figure  represents  Menak 
Djingo,  King  of  Balanojangan  ;  and  another  represents 
the  Queen,  and  additional  figures  of  gods,  goddesses, 
columns,  altars,  and  ruins  of  Hindoo  temples,  which 
prove  that  they  were  once  in  a  more  flourishing  condi- 
tion than  at  present.  This  island  has  been  once  under 
the  possession  of  the  Hindoos.  The  ruins  of  Mocndoct, 
situated  in  central  Java.  The  most  remarkable  are  the 
ruins  of  Pauibanantjande  Sczuoc,  or  TJiousand  Temples, 
about  four  leagues  from  Suracarta.  In  the  center  of 
an  extensive  plain,  almost  a  square,  rises  a  great  temple 
about  sixty  feet  in  height.  In  four  or  five  rows  round 
the  chief  temple  there  are  two  hundred  smaller  ones 
of  similar  architecture.  There  are  eight  colossal  statues 
of  seated  figures,  about  nine  feet  high,  sitting  two  by 
two  at  the  four  entrances.  Merapia,  the  largest  volcano 
in  Java,  soars  majestically  in  the  background. 

On  the  bank  or  bar  before  Batavia,  the  flood  rises 
about  six  feet,  and  even  higher  at  spring  tides.  High 
and  low  water  likewise  occur  but  once  in  twenty-four 
hours.  The  year,  as  is  usual  in  tropical  climates,  is 
divided  into  the  dry  and  rainy  seasons;  or  into  the 
east,  which  is  called  the  good  monsoon,  and  the  west,  or 
the  bad  monsoon.  Thunder-storms  are  very  frequent, 
especially  toward  the  conclusion  of  the  monsoons,  when 
they  occur  ahnost  every  evening.  Tlie  thermometer 
seldom  rises  over  90°  in  the  hottest  j)<irt  of  the  day, 
and  seldom  below  jCP  in  the  greatest  coolness  of  tlie 
morning;  yet  in  many  of  tlie  inland  towns,  and  in  some 
parts  among  the  hills,  it  is  often  so  cold  as  to  render  a 
fire  desirable. 


[8o  A    TOUR  IjV  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

The  capital  of  Java  and  of  all  Dutch  East  Indies,  or 
Archipelago,  is  Batavia,  founded  by  the  Dutch  in  1619; 
taken  by  the  English  in  181 1,  restored  to  the  Dutch  in 
1 8 16.  The  population,  100,000,  is  of  different  races — 
Javanese,  Chinese,  Balinese,  Malays,  and  Europeans.  It 
is  situated  on  a  wide,  deep  bay,  in  which  are  inter- 
spersed many  low,  green  islets,  within  the  inlets  of 
which,  ships  find  safe  anchorage.  It  is  rather  a  road- 
stead than  a  harbor.  It  is  easy  of  access,  and,  on  ac- 
count of  its  westerly  situation,  is  the  best  and  most  con- 
venient port  in  the  island.  The  greatest  inconvenience 
is  the  bar  at  the  mouth,  which,  at  low  water,  is  almost 
dry,  and  seldom  boasts  of  six  feet  of  water.  The  town 
stands  on  the  Ijeliwong  River,  or  at  the  union  of  small 
rivers  which  are  navigable  for  boats,  amidst  swamps, 
and  is  a  parallelogram  4,200  feet  long  by  2,000  broad. 
The  streets  are  intersected  by  canals,  and  interspersed 
with  trees  planted  on  each  side,  and  cross  each  other  at 
right  angles,  in  the  Dutch  style.  Many  of  the  canals 
are  filled  with  water  which  is  almost  stagnant.  The 
miasmata  generated  in  the  putrid  mudbanks  and  canals, 
render  the  town  exceedingly  unhealthy,  and  subject  to 
an  intermittent  fever,  very  mortal  to  strangers.  Ba- 
tavia, on  account  of  the  beaut\'  of  its  buildings  and 
immense  trade,  has  been  styled  the  Queen  of  the  East. 
But  within  a  few  years  the  town  has  lost  a  great  part 
of  its  splendor.  Streets  have  been  pulled  down,  canals 
half  filled  up,  forts  demolished,  and  palaces  leveled  to 
the  dust.  I'he  ca!//pou_<^s,  or  quarters  of  the  native 
population,  are  of  mean  appearance.  In  the  part  in- 
habited by  I-Luropeans,  the  streets  are  more  regular,  and 
the  houses  spacious,  but  not  elegant.  l"he  public  edi- 
fices are  neither  numerous  nor  splendid.  There  is  a 
fine  Catholic  church  built  and  attended  by  Portuguese, 
who  were  the  first  discoverers  of  this  island,  and  who 


BORNEO.  1 8 1 

created  a  settlement.  Three-quarters  of  Java  are  in 
the  power  of  the  Dutch,  whose  immediate  authority 
extends  over  three-fifths  of  the  population.  The  other 
quarter  is  divided  between  two  native  sovereigns,  in 
the  south-east  part  of  the  island.  There  are  several 
railways  on  this  island. 

The  Netherlands  India  Steam  Company's  boats  ar- 
rive here  in  two  days  from  Singapore,  in  connection 
with  those  of  the  P.  and  O.  Company,  and  the  hVench 
Messageries.  Now  the  Italian  line  of  the  Rubatino 
steamers  call  at  Singapore  and  Batavia. 

Having  passed  Caramatta  Island,  or  otherwise  called 
Carambatta,  we  could  perceive  Suraboa  (or  Suratua) 
Island  and  Pic  of  the  same  name,  covered  with  high 
and  thick  forests.  The  Boivcn  was  now  between  Java 
and  Borneo,  the  largest  island  in  the  world,  because 
Australia  is  considered  as  a  continent.  The  central 
parts  of  Borneo  have  never  been  explored  by  Euro- 
peans, and  the  insalubrity  of  its  climate  has  prevented 
them  from  frequenting  its  shores.  'Phe  principal  chain 
of  mountains  is  called  the  Crystal  Mountains,  from  the 
numerous  crystals  they  contain.  Volcanoes  and  earth- 
quakes devastate  the  island  ;  the  coast  for  miles  and 
miles  is  marshy,  and  is  a  moving  bog.  The  heat  is  not 
excessive,  although  the  island  is  under  the  equator,  and 
the  sea  and  mountain  breezes  moderate  it.  The  island 
is  rich  in  minerals  and  vegetation,  (jold  is  found  in 
large  cpiantity.  Diamonds,  which  arc  found  ncnvhcrc 
else  except  in  llindostan  and  Brazil,  are  confined  to  the 
south  and  west  coasts,  but  the  best  are  ol^tained  from 
Landak.  The  i)ett)'  i)rince  of  Maltan  is  in  jxjssession 
of  one  of  the  largest  diamonds  in  the  world.  It  is 
valued  at  S'»-CO,COO,  which  is  $150,000  less  than  the 
Russian,  and  $500,000  more  than  the  Pitt  diamond. 
The  miners  are  the  aboriginal  savages.     The  camphor 


1 82  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

is  the  best  in  the  world.  Pearls  are  numerous  and  very 
fine.  Several  nations  have  tried  to  form  some  settle- 
ments, but  only  the  Dutch  have  succeeded.  The  popu- 
lation is  estimated  at  from  three  to  five  millions,  mostly 
Mohammedan.  The  shores  are  inhabited  by  Malays, 
Javanese,  Bugis,  and  natives  of  Celebes,  and  some  de- 
scendants of  Arabs,  who  are  all  subject  to  despotic 
princes  called  Sultans.  The  interior  is  peopled  by  a 
race  of  Malay  colonists  established  longer  than  those 
on  the  coasts,  and  called  Biajoos,  or  Viajas.  The 
natives  are  called  Dcjakkcse,  or  Idaan.  They  extract 
some  front  teeth  and  insert  pieces  of  gold  in  their 
stead.  Their  bodies  are  painted,  and  their  onl}-  cloth- 
ing is  a  girdle  round  the  middle.  The  Biajoos  hang  up 
the  skulls  of  their  enemies  at  the  doors  of  their  huts. 
The  Harafooras,  a  race  of  the  interior,  differ  from  the 
Idaans  in  having  darker  complexions  and  longer  ears. 
Their  dancing  girls  are  much  admired  by  Europeans  for 
their  activity  and  grace.  The  island  is  di\idcd  among 
several  princes  of  different  races.  The  animals  are 
numerous  and  of  many  kinds.  The  largest  kind  of 
monkeys  is  here.  The  monkey  of  the  pongo  tribe 
grows  to  the  size  of  a  man  ;  the  orang-outang,  which 
bears  the  strongest  resemblance  to  the  human  species 
in  look,  manner,  and  gait,  but  very  stupid  in  intelli- 
gence, is  very  numerous  in  Borneo. 

Banca  Island  came  now  in  our  sight.  This  is  very 
well  known  for  the  famous  Banca  tin,  which  is  very 
pure  and  easily  obtained.  Its  tin  mines,  worked  by 
the  Dutch  r>ast  India  Company,  are  estimated  to  bring 
i^l 50,000  annuall}'.  It  contains  60,000  inhabitants;  it 
belongs  to  Holland,  and  is  one  of  the  vassal  States  of 
Palembang. 

Here  we  crossed  the  line  and  again  entered  our  na- 
tive   northern  hemisphere,  and   although    it  was  very 


SINGAPORE.  183 

warm,  I  yet  fancied  that  I  was  at  home  once  more. 
We  rounded  Lingen  Island — a  very  mountainous  coun- 
try, north-east  of  the  famous  and  large  island,  Sumatra. 
Penobang  is  the  capital  of  this  notorious  Lingen  Isl- 
and, whose  inhabitants  are  all  Malays  of  the  worst 
description.  They  are  famous  pirates,  and  Lingen  is 
the  nest  of  these  sea-thieves.  Penobang  is  the  place 
from  which  they  enlist  for  robbery  on  pirate  Mala\s' 
sampans.  Several  birds  called  "  Men-of-war,"  were  Hy- 
ing round  the  ship.  The}'  are  as  large  as  eagles,  but 
their  feathers  are  black  with  a  white  edge,  and  the)-  have 
a  long,  forl^ed  tail.  Protected  by  these  feathered  "men- 
of-war,"  we  entered  the  straits,  and  who  can  describe  the 
beauty  of  the  many  small  islands  which  smiled  around 
us?  Here  we  observed  nati\'e  villages,  whose  houses 
were  built  on  piles  on  the  shore  of  the  islands,  but 
man\'  \-ards  abo\e  water-mark.  \\\  front,  plantations  of 
cocoanut  trees,  whose  palmy  and  stretched  tops  from 
the  shores  seemed  to  contemplate  their  majestic  shadows 
in  the  tranquil  waters  ;  beside  them  entire  islands  re- 
flected their  beautiful,  but  reversed  form  in  the  same 
mirror;  while  Chinese  junks  and  AIala\\s"  sampans  were 
passing  and  re-passing  near  our  steamer.  IIa\ing 
rounded  another  island,  we  came  in  front  of  luxuriant 
sugar-cane  plantations  ;  but  the  \erdant  banana  trees, 
I)resenting  to  us  their  large  and  pendant  clusters  of  the 
mellow  and  sweet  fruits,  were  tempting  us  b\'  their  in- 
vitation. When  we  came  in  sight  of  Singapore  toward 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  the  fragrant  odor  of  cinnamon, 
cloves,  etc.,  reminded  us  that  we  were  near  the  land  of 
spices.  Having  passed  a  Dutch  steamer  going  to  Ha- 
tavia  to  repair  the  cable,  the  Juncfii  cast  anchor  in  the 
roadstead  of  .Singapore.  .Sexeral  boats  came  to  see  if 
any  passengers  desired  to  land  ;  but  all  tletermined  to 
remain  on  board.    It  was  Monday,  the  27th  of  November. 


1 84  ^'^    TOUR  IIV  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

The  evening  was  excessively  hot.  To  this,  add  swarms 
of  several  kinds  of  mosquitoes,  with  their  unwelcome 
music,  and  cruel  biting;  these,  I  say,  impressed  us  with 
the  conviction  that  a  night  spent  in  the  harbor  of  Singa- 
pore was  not  such  a  delicacy  as  to  warrant  being  sought 
after  by  so  long  a  sea  voyage.  The  most  of  the  pas- 
sengers, considering  that  they  could  not  find  rest  in 
their  state-rooms,  requested  the  steward  to  liave  their 
beds  carried  on  deck  to  try  to  sleep  there  ;  but  dur- 
ing the  night  a  sudden  and  severe  thunder-storm, 
accompanied  by  a  deluge  of  rain,  caused  them  to  run 
pell-mell  to  their  state-rooms.  Next  morning  the 
steamer  went  to  the  wharf  at  the  new  harbor.  Before 
leaving  the  steamer,  two  second-class  passengers,  in 
fact  the  only  second-class,  came  to  visit  us.  One  was 
described  as  a  fool,  going  to  China  to  take  possession 
of  that  empire,  because  he  claimed  to  be  the  true 
legitimate  heir  to  the  Celestial  throne,  and,  as  such,  he 
had  published  his  intentions  in  the  newspapers  in  Aus- 
tralia, and  had  sent  notices  to  be  inserted  in  the  jour- 
nals of  France.  The  other,  called  Hopkinson,  was  a 
kind  of  agent  of  the  French  Government  in  Numea 
(New  Caledonia),  the  Botany  Bay  of  France.  He  came 
among  the  first-class  passengers,  and  exhibited  to  us 
some  coffee  which  he  had  raised  in  New  Caledonia. 
The  coffee  was  examined  and  pronounced  excellent. 
He  said  that  in  New  Caledonia  they  were  going  to 
plant  it  on  a  large  scale,  and  he  could  sell  the  crop 
of  next  year.  I  said  that  I  would  purchase  two  hun- 
dred kilogrammes.  He  said  :  '■  I  can  sell  them  to  you 
for  £c),  if  you  pay  now,  and  in  six  months,  perhaps  ten 
rronths  I  will  send  them  to  your  address  in  Gallipoli, 
Italy.  I  shall  put  them  in  a  box,  and  I  will  complete 
the  weight  of  a  ton  (as  the  transportation  expenses 
would  be  the  same  for  a  ton  or  part  of  it),  with  curiosi- 


JWPKIXSON'S  M YS TERIO US  COFFEE. 


I8S 


ties  of  New  Caledonia,  for  which  I  will  charge  nothing, 
but  you  must  pay  the  transportation  expenses.  I  will 
send  it  by  sailing  vessel  to  Marseilles,  and  by  steam  to 
Gallipoli.  We  are  several  brothers  ;  keep  a  mercantile 
house  in  Marseilles,  and  also  in  England.  In  one  \-car 
I  will  be  back  to  Numea." 

I  had  seen  this  gentleman  in  Australia;  he  landed 
with  me  in  Cook's  Town,  where  he,  with  great  show  of 
devotion,  wanted  to  hear  Mass.  He  said  that  he  was 
helping  to  build  a  large  cathedral  in  Numea ;  so  I 
thought  I  would  trust  him,  and  advanced  the  money.  I 
forgot  then  the  old  saying  that  there  are  two  bad  pay- 
ers, "those  who  pay  in  advance,  and  those  who  never 
pay."  So  I  handed  to  him  the  £q)  sterling,  and  he  gave 
me  a  receipt,  which  I  keep  yet,  and  he  took  the  written 
directions  how  and  to  whom  he  was  to  send  the  box." 

Here  I  heard  another  story  from  him.  He  said  that 
his  companion  (the  one  going  to  China  to  take  posses- 
sion of  that  empire),  while  the  Chinese  landed  in  Singa- 
pore, had  lost  his  chest,  which  contained  all  that  he 
possessed.  None  of  the  officers  believed  the  story,  and 
I  was  told  that  there  was  some  roguery  in  that.  Hop- 
kinson  informed  mc  that  he  believed  it,  and  that  he 
gave  him  £"]  or  ,Qc)  sterling.  He  presented  me  with  a 
fine  and  large  coral  plant,  which  I  could  not  take  with 
me,  but  he  promised  to  leave  it  in    Brindisi,  on  his  way 


*  The  coffee  and  box  have  never  been  received.  I  wrote  se\eral 
times  from  Italy  to  Marseilles  to  Hopkinson's  brother,  but  he  never 
condescended  to  reply.  I  wr<ite  to  Mr.  I'alnieiitola,  a  t^entleman 
from  (iallipoli  dointj  busin(;ss  in  Marseilles  ;  he  was  so  kind  as  to  i;(> 
himself  to  see  Hopkinson,  He  acknowledired  tlie  receipt  of  the  let- 
ters, but  could  K'\t  no  reason  why  he  had  failed  to  reply.  He  said 
that  he  had  recei\ed  no  coffee  for  me,  and  that  he  knew  nothint:  about 
it.  I  doubt  whether  it  will  come  before  the  Day  of  Judgment  !  fie  is 
said  to  be  a  niemb(;r  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  lIo])kinson  I'rires,  Mar- 
seilles, Fn^nce.  It  is  not  credit.able  to  !•' ranee  to  keep  such  a  class  of 
agents. 


1 86 


A   TOUR  L\  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


to  Marseilles ;  but  in  Brindisi  he  must  have  forgotten 
to  leave  it,  in  the  same  manner  as  he  must  have  forgot- 
ten the  coffee. 

Several  canoes  arrived  early  in  the  morning  from  the 
opposite  shore,  that  is,  from  Malacca,  having  a  great 
quantity  of  white  coral,  shells  of   every  kind,  sword- 


SIXGAPOKK 


fishes'  bones,  and  such-like  curiosities  to  sell  ;  but  as  I 
was  to  come  again  to  Singapore  on  my  return  from 
China,  I  purchased  nothing.  Having  left  my  baggage 
in  care  of  the  steward,  I  drove  to  the  Clarendon  Hotel, 
the  best  first-class  hotel  in  Singapore.  The  town  is 
about  three  miles  from  the  wharf,  and  this  three-mile 
road  can  be  said  to  be  a  continued  native  bazar. 


CHAPTER    X. 

DEPARTURE  FOR  CHINA — CHINESE — PHILIPriNE  ISLANDS — HONG-KONG— 
PEARL   RIVER — CANTON. 

Singapore  is  a  small  island  twenty-five  miles  long 
and  fourteen  broad,  separated  from  the  Johore  main- 
land by  a  strait  from  one-quarter  to  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  wide.  It  lies  at  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  the 
Straits  of  Malacca.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  straits'  set- 
tlements, comprising  Singapore,  Pcnang,  and  Malacca, 
or  Wcllesley,  and  it  was  founded  by  Sir  Raffles  Stamford 
in  1 8 19,  and  transferred  by  the  Indian  Government  to 
the  Crown  in  1867.  The  population  is  about  100,000, 
nearly  half-and-half  Malays  and  Chinese ;  there  are 
Germans  and  other  Europeans.  The  climate  is  hot,  but 
healthy  ;  it  is  only  eighty  miles  from  the  equator,  and 
it  stands  in  a  capital  center  (or  commerce,  opposite 
Sumatra,  Borneo,  etc.  There  is  neither  summer  nor 
winter,  and  even  the  periodical  rains  are  not  at  all  de- 
fined. Currency  is  in  Spanish  dollars,  divided  into  one 
hundred  parts,  represented  cither  by  Dutch  doits  or  En- 
glish copper  coins  of  the  same  value.  Thermometer,  71° 
to  89°  indoors;  100'  to  117'  in  the  sun.  The  showers, 
which  fall  two  da)'s  in  three,  are  always  moderate. 

1  went  to  the  cathedr;  1,  because  next  day  came  a 
festival  of  the  \^.  Virgin  Mary,  and  I  desired  to  say 
Mass.  J  he  bishop,  or  \icar-apostolic,  had  gone  to 
I  long-Kong  for  his  health,  but  I  found  his  vicar.  I 
incjuired  of  him  if  that  was  the  only  church  in  Singa- 
pore,   and    he    the   onl)-    priest?     "There    is   no    other 

(187) 


1 8  8  A    TO  UR  IN  B  0  Tli  HEMISPHERES. 

church,"  he  rephed,  "  but  there  is  another  priest,  who, 
at  present,  is  not  on  the  island."  In  returning  to  my 
hotel  in  company  with  Mr.  Hopkinson  we  met  a  gen- 
tleman dressed  like  a  priest,  and  wearing  a  round  hat. 
"  That  is  a  priest,"  I  remarked  to  Mr.  Hopkinson.  ''  He 
looks  like  one,"  he  said.  I  saluted  him  in  French,  and 
he  returned  the  salutation  in  Portuguese.  We  joined 
him,  and  I  asked  him,  "  Esta  V.  un  padre?"  "  Servir  a 
V."  I  told  him  that  I  was  just  returning  from  the 
Vicar-Apostolic's  residence,  and  was  informed  that 
there  was  no  other  priest  nor  church  on  the  island. 
"  Yes,  sir,"  he  replied,  "we  have  the  Portuguese  Church 
and  residence,  and  there  are  two  priests  to  attend  the 
Portuguese  congregation.  The  reason  why  they  told 
you  that  there  were  no  other  churches  nor  priests  is 
because  the  Vicar-Apostolic  does  not  like  to  see  any 
church  or  priests  that  are  not  under  his  jurisdiction  ; 
hence  he  does  not  recognize  us ;  but  that  makes  no 
difference,  because  we  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  our 
Superior — the  Archbishop  of  Goa,  who  has  always  been 
the  Superior  of  all  the  Portuguese  missions  in  India 
and  the  Straits  of  Malacca,  where  there  is  another 
Portuguese  priest,  who  is  vicar  of  the  straits'  settle- 
ments. Our  church  is  not  far  from  here  ;  we  can  walk 
thither ;  it  w'ill  not  take  long.  Then  1  shall  have  the 
pleasure  of  accompanying  you  to  the  Clarendon  Hotel." 

I  accepted  the  invitation,  and  we  went  to  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Portuguese  missionaries.  Air.  Hopkinson 
remarked  to  me:  "I  perceive  a  great  difference  between 
these  missionaries  and  those  at  the  Cathedral.  These 
are  affable  in  their  manners,  and  show  an  apostolic  sim- 
plicity ;  the  others  were  stiff,  and  displayed  a  kind  of 
pretension.  I  perceived  that  there  was  some  umbrage 
about  jurisdiction." 

Arrived  at  the  Portuguese  residence,  we  found  the 


THE  PUNKHA. 


189 


Superior  of  the  mission,  the  good  Rev.  Nicolao  Ignacio 
Theophilo  Pinto,  whose  generous  heart  did  justice  to 
the  noble  Portuguese  nation.  We  spent  a  pleasant 
evening  there.  They  showed  me  the  church,  where  they 
were  just  rehearsing  Mozart's  Mass,  No.  XII.,  for  Christ- 
mas. There  were  string  instruments,  and  very  good 
voices,  all  men.  The  heat  was  so  intense  that  I  could 
do  nothing  but  wipe  my  face.  Padre  Pinto  told  me  : 
"  We  are  only  two  priests  here.  At  Christmas  night 
we  like  to  have  High  Mass,  with  deacon  and  subdca- 
con.  If  you  could  make  up  your  mind  to  be  here  on 
Christmas  to  sing  Mass  and  preach,  you  would  oblige 
us  very  much."  I  made  my  calculations,  and  promised 
to  be  at  Singapore  for  Christmas.  I  was  obliged  to 
accept  their  hospitality,  to  stop  with  them  on  my  re- 
turn from  China.  Rev.  J.  P.  S.  De  Cunha  accompanied 
us  to  the  hotel.  I  promised  to  say  Mass  there  next 
day,  but  it  rained  so  hard  that  I  could  not  go. 

Next  morning  the  servant  brought  to  my  room  a  cup 
of  black  coffee,  some  sweetmeats,  and  a  slice  of  pine- 
apple. At  breakfast  the  table  was  fanned  by  two  large 
fans  called  a  Punkha.  It  is  a  long  beam  susjjcnded  from 
the  ceiling,  and  agitated  by  ropes  passed  through  pul- 
leys. To  these  beams  are  attached  the  fans,  consisting 
of  heavy  stuff  like  quilts,  over  one  yard  deep,  and  along 
the  entire  length  of  the  table.  Sometimes  there  are 
two  or  three  of  them,  which  can  be  either  detached  or 
coupled  at  pleasure,  so  that  one  jjcrson  ma)'  agitate  all 
at  once.  This  punkha  is  used  everywhere  in  India  and 
other  hot  countries.  It  is  uscil  on  the  steamboats, 
offices,  Protestant  churclies,  and  on  their  pulpits.  At 
the  hotels  it  is  even  used  (jver  the  l)cds  in  bedrooms; 
then  the  rope  and  pulley  is  outside  in  another  room,  or 
in  the  yard,  entry,  etc.,  as  it  is  in  the  Protestant  churches 
and    ofifices.      I    have   ne\'er   seen    an}'    in    the   Catholic 


igO  ^i    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

churches.  At  the  hotels  they  make  an  additional 
charge  for  winding  it  over  the  bed  ;  not  on  account 
of  the  punkha,  but  on  account  of  the  boy,  who  has  to 
pull  the  rope  on  the  pulley,  and  fan  the  whole  night 
through.  However,  the  boy  falls  asleep;  the  punkha 
stops,  and  the  sleeping  people,  passing  from  the  cool- 
ing breeze  of  the  fan  to  the  smothering  air  of  the  bed- 
room, get  the  nightmare,  and  commence  to  dream  hor- 
rible and  fearful  things.  Frightened,  they  awake  sud- 
denly in  a  great  profusion  of  perspiration,  to  find  that 
the  punkha  lies  still.  Impatient  and  mad,  they  halloo 
to  awake  the  boy,  who  again  commences  his  patient 
and  monotonous  work. 

On  account  of  the  sun  here,  it  is  impossible  to  go  but 
a  little  distance  without  a  carriage.  In  company  with 
Padre  De  Cunha  and  Mr.  Hopkinson,  I  went  to  the 
post-office.  Oh,  what  a  treasure  of  letters  and  papers! 
I  had  established  the  Singapore  post-office  as  the  place 
to  send  letters  till  the  middle  of  December.  After 
visiting  the  post-office,  we  drove  around  the  island  to 
see  the  beautiful  gardens,  and  the  nutmeg  plantations. 

Returned  to  the  hotel,  I  found  a  native  waiting  for 
me ;  he  had  a  counterfeit  dollar,  saying  that  I  had  given 
it  the  day  before  in  payment  for  some  things  I  had 
bought.  As  I  was  well-posted  up  with  these  kind  of 
tricks,  I  took  no  notice  of  him,  and  the  hotel  officers 
beckoned  to  me  on  the  subject.  Tlie  nati\'e  then  said  : 
"  If  you  did  not  give  it,  then  it  must  be  tliis  other  gen- 
tleman."    But  he  had  no  belter  success. 

After  dinner  I  settled  my  bill  with  the  iKjtel.  The 
charge  was  sixteen  shillings  per  diem,  exclusive  of  all 
drinkables.  The}'  took  sovereigns  at  par,  because  the 
only  current  coins  are  Spanish  dollars,  divided  into  one 
hundred  parts,  represented  either  by  Dutch  doits  or 
English   copper  coins   of   the   same   value.     American 


OFF  FOR  CHINA.  lOI 

dollars  are  sometimes  taken  at  par.  Gold-dust  is  sold 
or  taken  in  exchange  by  a  Malay  weight,  called  the 
Btingkal,  equal  to  two  Spanish  dollars,  or  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-two  grains  Troy.  Vox  weights,  one  piciil 
makes  one  hundred  catties,  equal  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three  and  a  half  pounds  avoirdupois;  iovty piciils 
make  one  cayan  of  rice.  Accompanied  by  several 
friends,  and  under  a  deluge  of  rain,  I  went  on  board  the 
Bozvcn,  which  was  to  sail  for  China  next  day  at  7  A.M. 

The  entire  crew  belonged  to  Singapore.  All  had 
enlisted  here ;  they  were  paid  off,  but  all  except  nine 
re-enlisted  for  another  trip,  and  promised  to  be  on 
board  the  evening  of  the  day  of  departure,  others  early 
in  the  morning  of  that  day.  A  new  officer  replaced  the 
third  officer,  who  was  sick,  and  who  had  gone  to  Scot- 
land, his  native  country.  At  the  wharf  a  native  wanted 
me  to  change  a  dollar — -of  course  a  bad  dollar.  It  is 
not  safe  to  change  money  with  natives  unless  they  are 
regular  money-changers. 

Next  day,  November  30th,  I  was  on  deck  before 
seven  A.M.  It  was  raining  very  hard.  Although  the 
number  of  the  crew  had  been  increased,  yet  there  were 
not  Chinese  enough  on  board  to  make  the  steamer 
ready  for  sail ;  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  the 
crew  were  all  Chinese.  The  company's  agent  was  on 
board,  and  Captain  Miller  was  very  anxious  to  sail  at 
seven  A.M.,  hence  was  complaining  to  the  agent  who 
had  enlisted  the  crew,  and  yet  not  even  half  were  on 
board.  The  Chinese  had  had  a  good  time  during  the 
night  with  their  families  and  friends,  hence  were  late  to 
come  on  board.  However,  notwithstanding  the  heavy 
rain  you  could  see  them  running  and  hurrying  to  the 
wharf.  A  little  before  eight  A.M.  the  entire  crew  passed 
in  review  before  tlie  agent,  captain,  and  steward  on 
deck,  marched   in   file   down   below,  and   at   once  took 


192  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

their  position  at  work,  the  departure-signal  was  given, 
and  we  were  off  for  China  at  eight  A.M.  precisely. 

The  weather  had  now  become  clear  and  very  pleas- 
ant. We  enjoyed  the  fine  view  of  so  many  small  isles 
in  the  straits.  The  Bowcn  rounded  Cape  Romania — a 
flat,  long  neck  in  Johor,  one  of  the  provinces  of  the 
peninsula  of  Malacca,  and  steered  for  Hong-Kong.  Al- 
though the  China  and  Japan  seas  have  the  well-deserved 
reputation  of  being  very  abominable,  especially  at  this 
season  of  the  year,  when  the  north-east  monsoons  often 
blow  furiously,  an  Australian  steamer  which  left  Sydney 
for  Hong-Kong  two  days  before  us,  full  of  Chinese 
returning  home,  and  which,  carrying  no  way-mail,  was 
sailing  by  the  short  route,  namely,  through  Mores  Sea, 
and  between  the  islands  of  Celebes  and  Gilolo,  en- 
countered such  terrible  storms  and  heavy  seas,  that  she 
was  several  times  on  the  point  of  being  wrecked  on  the 
north-east  peninsula  of  Celebes;  then,  again,  she  was 
on  the  point  of  foundering  in  a  severe  storm  off  one  of 
the  Philippine  Islands.  The  alarmed  Chinese  perceiv- 
ing their  danger,  while  the  storm  was  increasing  in 
strength,  and  the  mountain-like  billows  dashing  furi- 
ously against  the  steamer,  made  a  collection  among 
themselves,  and  having  collected  four  hundred  dollars, 
threw  them  into  the  sea  to  appease  the  anger  of  their 
gods.  We  saw  this  steamer  into  the  harbor  of  Hong- 
Kong.  She  appeared  as  if  she  had  come  out  of  a  severe 
battle.  The  smoke-stack  gone,  one  of  the  masts  broken, 
the  bridge  and  the  most  of  the  deck-rails  washed  off, 
one  of  the  sides  opened,  and  such  a  quantity  of  water 
had  got  inside  that  she  was  leaning  o\'cr.  She  had 
arrived  in  the  harbor  only  a  short  time  before  the 
Bowcn  did. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  Gulf  of  Bengal,  on  the 
31st  of  October,  there  had  been  such  a  terrible  cyclone 


LABUAN  ISLAND.  Iq^ 

that  it  caused  an  inundation  in  the  eastern  districts  of 
Bengal  of  such  a  dimension  tliat  in  one  single  night 
200,000  people  were  drowned/'^  besides  an  immense 
number  of  cattle  which  could  not  be  computed.  Yet, 
thanks  to  God,  we  found  the  China  Sea  not  only  calm, 
but  instead  of  the  north-east  monsoon,  we  were  enjoy- 
ing gentle  south-west  winds.  Captain  Miller  was  as- 
tonished at  this,  and  laughed  to  find  some  sailing  ves- 
sels, which  were  going  south-west,  expecting  to  discover 
the  north-east  monsoon,  but  instead  they  had  contrary 
winds.  A  gentleman  fellow-traveler  told  mc  that  he 
had  heard  the  captain  say  that  this  was  the  doing  of 
the  prayers  of  the  Catholic  priest  on  board,  who  suffers 
so  much  by  sca-sickncss.  I  laughed.  "  Yes,  sir,"  he 
replied,  "  I  do  belie\'e  it  myself,  and  I  am  very  glad 
that  you  are  on  board.  I  have  to  go  to  Manilla  (Phi- 
lippine Islands)  from  Hong-Kong,  and  I  will  face  the 
north-east  monsoon.  I  am  afraid  of  it.  Oh,  if  I  had 
you  with  me !  Do  come  with  me.  We  will  see  Can- 
ton, then  go  to  Manilla,  return  to  Hong-Kong,  and  take 
the  same  steamer,  the  Bowcii,  for  Singapore.  You  will 
go  to  India  and  I  to  Sydney."  He  was  a  Protestant 
gentleman  from  Australia.  I  replied  tliat  I  would  be 
very  glad  to  travel  in  his  company  to  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  back  to  Singapore,  but  as  I  had  promised 
to  be  in  Singapore  for  Christmas  I  could  not  go  to 
Manilla. 

We  passed  some  small  r(jck}'  islands ;  lea\ing  to  the 
right  the  groups  of  the  little  islands  called  Sant(^  Spir- 
ito  and  Tanbelan,  the  IIoilu/i  steered  by  the  x\namba 
group,  to  the  right  the  great  Xatuna  Island,  west  <»f 
Borneo.  Here  we  were  just  opposite  to  the  islaiul  of 
Labuan,  700  miles  from  Sing.ipore  and  i,oco  from  I  long- 


Overlatid  Jonrnal,  'I'hursday,  DLceniber  14,  1S76. 
9 


194 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


Kong,  situated  six  miles  from  the  north-west  coast  of 
Borneo.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  Malay  word, 
Laboo  (an  anchor).  It  has  an  elevation  of  about  70 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  is  covered  with  forests.  It  has 
an  abundance  of  water,  and  good  fruits  and  vegetables. 
The  climate  is  hot  and  not  very  healthy.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  town  of  Victoria  is  about  4,000,  and  mostly 
composed  of  colored  people.  The  harbor  is  a  free  port. 
The  island  is,  in  fact,  one  great  cannel  coal-field,  and 
could  supply  two  to  three  hundred  tons  a  day.  The 
mines  are  leased  to  the  P.  and  O.  Company  for  forty-two 
years  from  186S,  to  furnish  supplies  to  the  depots  at 
Singapore,  etc.  Nearly  all  the  people  are  employed  at 
the  coaling  depot. 

In  this  season  of  the  year,  during  the  north-cast 
monsoons,  vessels  going  from  Singapore  to  Hong-Kong, 
or  returning,  navigate  toward  the  Philippine  Islands  in 
order  to  be  under  the  lee  of  that  group.  However,  the 
captain  perceiving  that  we  were  sailing  with  good 
south-west  wind,  steered  direct  toward  Hong-Kong. 

We  had  several  hundred  Chinese  on  board  from  Aus- 
tralia and  Singapore.  They  were  all  men,  except  one, 
who,  a  few  days  before  reaching  SingafDorc,  gave  birth  to 
a  child.  Her  husband  was  with  her.  It  was  truly  a  curi- 
osity to  see  the  Chinese  eating.  The  manner  of  feeding 
them  on  board  is  as  follows  :  Out  of  each  ten  is  one  ap- 
pointed to  divide  and  give  them  the  food.  To  these 
stewards  a  mark,  or  badge,  is  given  in  order  that  the\- 
may  be  recogni/.ed  by  the  cooks.  In  the  morning  the 
stewards  go  to  the  cook  with  a  basket  large  enough  to 
contain  the  allowance  for  ten,  show  the  badge,  and  re- 
ceive the  boiled  rice,  which  is  taken  out  of  a  huge 
cauldron  by  dipping  each  basket  in  it.  While  this  is 
done  on  deck,  the  Chinese  down  below  are  divided  in 
rows  by  ropes,  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  interior  of 


CHINESE  MODES  OF  EA  TING.  1^5 

the  ship,  by  nine  and  nine,  every  one  taking  his  place  in 
that  division  of  the  tenth  to  which  each  belongs.  Each 
one  is  provided  with  a  tin  plate,  tin  tumbler,  and  two 
smaU  bamboo  sticks  which  answer  for  spoon  and  fork. 
Now  the  tenths  come,  each  with  his  basketful  of  boiled 
rice  well-drained  from  every  drop  of  water.  Each  tenth 
recognizes  the  nines  belonging  to  his  division,  separated 
by  a  rope  from  other  divisions.  The  rice  having  been 
distributed,  curry*  and,  on  some  days,  eggs  are  given, 
to  which  fish  is  occasional!}'  added,  or  potatoes.  The 
manner  of  holding  the  two  sticks  is  very  peculiar.  They 
insert  a  finger,  generally  the  fore-finger,  between  the 
two  sticks,  while,  with  the  thumb  and  another  finger, 
they  direct,  close,  or  relax  the  two  sticks,  like  pinchers, 
to  take  hold  of  the  food,  to  stir  it,  to  pull  it,  to  push  it 
into  the  mouth,  etc.  With  regard  to  the  rice,  they  hold 
the  plate  which  contains  it  close  to  their  mouth,  and 
push  it  in  with  the  aid  of  the  two  little  sticks.  For 
liquids  they  use  small,  round  porcelain  spoons. 

When  they  are  placed  in  divisions  waiting  for  the 
food,  they  hum,  grunt,  scratch  their  bellies  over  their 
clothes,  and  make  every  kind  of  noise  \\  ith  the  throat, 
without  articulating,  just  like  hungr\'  brutes  anticij)at- 
ing  food.  After  eating,  they  genth'  stroke  their  bell}' 
over  their  clothes,  and  hum  like  animals. 

Boiled  rice  and  curr}'  are  used  in  all  warm  countries. 
It  is  the  first  dish  at  dinner  in  the  hotels,  steamboats, 
and  private  families,  and  the}'  consider  it  the  most  sub- 
stantial food  ;  }-et  I  could  not  entlure  the  curr}',  because 
it  burned  my  mouth.  I  tried  it  sc\'cral  times,  but  I 
could  not  get  reconciled  to  it.  I  often  ate  dry  boiled 
rice,  in  order  to  have  something  substantial  ;  this,  also. 


*  Curry  is  ;i  kind  of  sauce  made  with  red   pc])])er,  jelly,  and  other 
strong  spices.      It  is  very  strong,  pungent,  and  burns  the  nicuith. 


196  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

I  was  obliged  to  give  up,  because  I  was  admonished 
that  dry  boiled  rice  without  curry  was  very  unwhole- 
some. 

Wc  were  now  opposite  the  Philippine  Islands  and  at 
no  great  distance.  I  would  have  liked  to  have  visited 
Manilla,  the  capital  of  these  Spanish  colonies,  discov- 
ered in  1 52 1,  by  Magelhaen  ;  and  called  Philippines  from 
Philip  II.  of  Spain.  True,  Manilla  is  a  large  city  of 
110,000  inhabitants,  5,000  of  whom  are  foreigners;  and 
it  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  Pasig  River,  which  is- 
sues from  Lake  Bahia,  ten  miles  distant ;  but  there  is 
nothing  there  which  can  not  be  observed  on  other  isl- 
ands of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Santa  Cruz  waterfall  and 
gorge  is  truly  magnificent,  but  earthquakes  are  so  preva- 
lent, that  there  are  but  few  houses  of  more  than  one 
story  high.  Yet  had  I  had  time  to  spare  I  would  have 
then  gone  to  Manilla.  Another  difficulty  was  that  the 
steamers  only  occasionally  run  from  Manilla  to  Singa- 
pore, Hong-Kong,  etc. 

On  the  6th  of  December  early  in  the  morning  we 
expected  to  see  Chinese  land.  The  north-east  monsoons 
were  blowing  quite  fresh,  and  the  China  Sea  made  me 
realize  the  truth  of  its  abominable  reputation.  Could 
I  complain  ?  No.  Sea-sick  I  went  to  bed,  but  at  4 
A.M.  I  was  on  deck,  and  I  was  rewarded  even  in  the 
dark  by  seeing  fantastic-looking  steep  rocks  and  little 
islands,  which  I  would  call  the  suburbs  of  IIong-Kong 
Island. 

We  could  sec  Victoria  Peak  1,900  feet  high,  which 
had  already  signalized  the  appearance  of  the  Bowcn. 
P^ishing  junks  and  sampans  could  be  observed  in  every 
direction,  while  winding  around  the  high  mountain  of 
Hong-Kong  we  enjoyed  in  detail  the  romantic  view  of 
small  villages,  gardens,  and  villas  built  on  the  side  of* 
the  mountain.     In  som.e  little  coves  you  could  perceive 


HOXG-KONG. 


197 


Chinamen  making  ready  their  nets,  others  pushing  their 
sampans  into  the  sea,  and  such  Hke  occupations.  A 
nativ^e  pilot  in  a  Chinese  junk  approached  the  steamer, 
but  the  captain  refused  to  deal  with  him. 

Here  came  an  exciting  scene  never  before  witnessed 
by  me,  neither  would  I  have  believed  it  unless  I  had 
beheld  it  with  my  own  e}es.  I  had  heard  and  read 
how  Malay  pirates  had  assaulted  and  captured  vessels 
on  the  high  sea.  I  had  read  in  the  newspapers  how  the 
American  steamer  Spark  between  Canton  and  Macao 
had  been  captured  by  Malay  pirates,  who  killed  the 
captain  and  other  officers,  plundered  the  boat  and  pas- 
sengers, and  then  sailed  away.  Yet  I  could  not  com- 
prehend how  they  could  take  a  steamer  running  at  full 
speed  and  well-armed.  I  always  thought  that  there  was 
much  exaggeration  in  these  narratives.  But  when  the 
steamer,  running  eleven  knots  per  hour  toward  the  road- 
stead of  Hong-Kong,  was  met  by  junks  posted  ahead, 
the  Chinese  with  long  poles,  surmounted  by  iron  hooks, 
so  skillfully  fastened  the  poles  to  the  rings,  ropes,  rig- 
gings, or  such-like  of  the  steamer,  and  junks  succeeded 
junks  with  such  rapidity  that  in  no  time  the  Boivcn  had 
in  tow  over  eighty  of  these  ships  as  a  sort  of  flying 
escort.  The  captain  had  given  orders  not  to  allow  any 
Chinaman  to  come  on  board,  and  officers  and  sailors 
were  on  the  lookout.  I  saw  the  steward  holding  a 
Chinaman  by  the  queue,  tlius  hindering  him  from  climb- 
ing on  board,  and  pulling  him  down.  Other  officers  in 
the  stern  and  on  both  sides  of  the  sliip  were  doing  the 
same,  and  in  room  of  the  one  that  had  been  pushed 
down  you  could  see  five  or  six  heads  springing  up  as  if 
by  magic.  It  was  just  as  well  as  to  try  to  push  back 
the  current  of  a  rapid  river,  as  to  endea\'or  to  keep  the 
Chinese  from  climbing  the  ste.amer,  which  they  had  al- 
ready  taken   by   assault.     When    the   Boivcn   had   cast 


198 


A    rOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


anchor  hundreds  of  Chinamen  were  running  in  every 
direction  all  over  the  boat,  except  in  the  state-rooms, 
which  had  been  locked  to  prevent  pilfering.  Not  that 
the  Chinamen  had  come  to  steal,  but  they  were  friends 
and  related  to  their  fellow-countrymen  on  board,  and 
had  come  to  make  arrangements  to  disembark  their 
luggage.     One  poor  fellow  in  running  from  place  to 


HONG-KONG. 


place  fell  through  the  hatchway  and  broke  his  neck. 
An  order  was  afterward  issued  by  the  police  tliat  no 
ship  should  enter  the  harbor  with  open  hatches. 

We  landed  at  9^^  A.M.,  \\'edncsda\-,  6th  of  December. 
I  and  Mr.  Robert  Taylor,  a  gentleman  from  Australia, 
and  m.y  fellow-traveler  went  to  the  Hong-Kong  hotel, 
the  only  good  one  in  town.  At  dinner  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  making  the  acquaintance  of  three  Italian  gentle- 


HONG-KONG.  I  go 

men,  who  were  returning  from  Japan,  and  expected  to 
travel  through  India. 

The  island  of  Hong-Kong  was  ceded  to  England  in 
1 84 1,  or,  with  more  truth,  it  was  seized  by  the  English 
Government  as  a  compensation  for  the  opium  belong- 
ing to  the  l^ritish  merchants  at  Canton,  destroyed  by 
the  Chinese  Government,  in  addition  to  a  compensation 
of  ^5,000,000  sterling  paid  by  the  Chinese  as  an  in- 
demnification for  the  expenses  of  the  war.  It  was  on 
this  occasion  that  permission  was  granted  to  the  British 
to  trade  at  the  ports  of  Amoy,  Euchow,  and  Shanghai. 
The  population  is  about  133,000;  of  whom  130,000  are 
Chinese  and  a  mixed  Portuguese  race  from  Macao. 
The  official  name  of  the  principal  port  is  Victoria,  but 
hardly  any  person  calls  it  by  that  name.  IIong-Kong 
(island  of  sweet  water),  except  as  a  commercial  port  of 
the  first  class,  where  is  stored  the  merchandise  of  the 
great  foreign  houses  established  at  Shanghai  and  other 
open  ports,  did  not  strike  me  as  being  a  charming  and 
comfortable  residence.  The  city  is  formed  of  narrow, 
crooked,  and  irregular  streets,  which  ascend  one  abo\-e 
the  other  along  the  rocks.  Carriages  are  never  seen 
here,  all  burdens  being  transported  on  bamboo  poles 
laid  across  the  shoulders  of  men.  Vou  see  nothing  else 
but  sedan-chairs,  and  the  people  are  so  used  to  them 
that  they  never  walk  even  for  a  \-ery  short  distance. 
The  exaggerated  cleanness,  except  in  a  few  streets,  I 
did  not  see.  Neither  did  I  understand  the  comf()rt  of 
the  people,  who,  except  on  dut\-  and  business,  do  not 
like  to  live  here.  I  s[)eak  of  tlie  ICuropeans.  \\\(\ 
truly  as  soon  as  their  time  expires  in  China  and  Japan 
they  return  to  l-~uro])e  or  America.  The  climate  is  im- 
healthy  in  the  rainv  ^eas).),  an:!  very  hot  and  stilhug  in 
July  and  August.  The  changes  of  tem[)erature  are  try- 
ing to  European  cc;nstitutions.     The  Victoria  Peak  un- 


200  '-i    TOUR  IN  BOTH  IIEMISr HERE S. 

fortunately  shuts  out  the  south-west  breeze  and  the 
cool  air  during  six  months  of  the  hot  season.  At  such 
times  fever  occurs,  as  the  burning  sun  strikes  down  on 
the  barren  granite  boulders  and  thin  shrubs  which  cover 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  is  true  that  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  town  there  is  mc^re  animation  and  business, 
but  with  the  exception  of  a  few  officers  and  soldiers, 
stiff  Parsees,  half-naked  Hindus,  swarthy  Chinese,  and 
dirty  Malays  swarm  everywhere  around.  Now  and  then 
you  meet  with  some  European  lady  and  half-caste  Portu- 
guese in  h>uropean  style.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  this,  the 
harbor  being  a  free  port,  the  roadstead  presents  an 
interesting  and  animated  scene.  The  crowd  of  frigates, 
gun-boats,  mercantile  steamers,  besides  those  belonging 
to  the  regular  lines  of  the  great  companies,  sailing  ves- 
sels of  every  description,  and  the  great  number  of  small 
vessels  round  the  large  steamboats  loading  and  unload- 
ing, causing  them  to  look  like  hens  surrounded  by  their 
chickens,  give  to  the  harbors  of  this  city  a  very  great 
animation.  Mong-Kong  is  the  center  of  all  the  Eastern 
mails,  by  branch  steamers,  which  carry  passengers  and 
goods  to  Amoy,  Shanghai,  and  other  Chinese  ports, 
also  to  Yokohama  and  the  Japanese  sea-bound  cities. 

The  cit\'  is  considered  two  miles  long,  but  this  is  un- 
derstood only  of  the  shore-r(^ad  along  the  wharves  level 
with  the  sea.  The  principal  street  is  (Jueen's  Road, 
lined  on  both  sides  with  Chinese  shops  filled  with  the 
most  curious  articles  of  the  I^ast — China  crapes,  lac- 
quered furniture  of  every  description,  porcelain  vases 
of  the  most  valuable  kind,  camphor-wood  boxes,  silks 
embroidered  in  the  most  skillful  fashion  ;  aiul  evtny  ar- 
ticle is  so  well  arranged  and  in  such  good  taste  as  in- 
stantly to  decide  the  hesitating  buyer.  I  jjurchased 
many  articles,  but  I  had  no  silver,  which  is  the  only  cur- 
rency  in   China,    Japan,   and    the    .Straits    of    Ma-agca. 


CHINESE  MARKETS.  20I 

Gold  being  at  twenty  per  cent,  discount,  I  lost  very 
much  at  the  banks  in  exchanging  for  silver.  Yet  I 
succeeded  in  inducing  the  Chinese  to  accept  sovereigns 
at  par  in  payment  of  my  purchases.  While  thus  nego- 
tiating this  matter  I  saw  in  this  shop  a  sickly  and  ema- 
ciated Chinaman,  smoking  the  fatal  opium-pipe.  "  You 
are  killing  yourself,"  I  told  him.  "  And  if  you  do  not 
quit  this  opium,  you  will  soon  be  in  the  grave."  The 
shop-keeper  said  :  ''  This  is  my  brother,  and  he  knows 
that  he  is  killing  himself;  I  told  him  very  often;  but 
he  is  so  strongly  attached  to  this  vice,  that  he  says  he 
is  not  able  to  abandon  it  even  at  the  price  of  life." 

I  went  to  see  the  market,  but  felt  quite  disgusted  at  the 
way  in  which  the  comestibles  were  kept,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  handled  by  the  venders  and  buyers. 
You  see  vegetables,  fish,  rats,  frogs,  meat,  fowls,  paste 
bags  of  chopped  pork  fat,  eels,  tendons  of  deer,  onions, 
garlic,  etc.,  put  together  in  a  scale  and  sold  by  steel- 
yard weight.  Without  mentioning  the  dust  and  other 
kind  of  dirt  to  which  they  are  exposed  in  the  shops  and 
outside  where  they  are  kept,  the  venders  handle  them 
with  their  hands,  whether  clean  or  not,  and  put  them  pell- 
mell  in  the  scale.  The  buyer  takes  them  all  together — - 
fish,  meat,  rats,  onions,  vegetables,  etc.,  in  his  hands, 
and  in  this  manner  he  bears  them  to  the  house.  At 
the  hotel,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  servants,  all  are 
Chinese.  At  dinner,  looking  at  the  food,  the  market 
scene  recurred  to  my  mind,  and  considering  that  the 
cook  and  the  compradors  were  Chinamen,  I  could  not 
eat;  and  although  before  dinner  I  had  an  appetite,  I 
lost  it  at  the  table.  Notwithstanding  that  I  was  paying 
four  dollars  per  day  at  the  hotel,  I  was  very  thankful 
for  the  kind  invitation  of  his  Lordshi]:),  Dr.  Raymondi, 
Bishop  of  Hong-Kong,  \\hich  I  accei^ted  con  a  more, 
and  not  being  able  to  stay  with  him  altogether,  on 
9* 


202  A    TOUT?  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

account  of  my  other  traveling  companions,  I  gladly 
took  my  meals  with  him,  as  at  his  residence  the  cook 
and  other  domestics  were  Europeans. 

One  day  after  tiffin-  I  heard  the  military  band  play- 
ing at  the  wharf  close  to  the  Hong-Kong  hotel.  Curi- 
osity attracted  me  to  the  spot,  where  I  found  a  number 
of  policemen  and  British  soldiers  trying  to  keep  the 
people  from  a  part  of  the  road  and  from  the  landing. 
It  was  the  Chinese  Embassy  to  St.  James  that  had 
arrived  in  a  steamer,  and  about  to  embark  in  the  P. 
and  O.  boat  next  day  for  England.  They  were  to  be 
guests  of  the  Governor,  who,  with  other  officials,  had 
come  to  receive  them.  They  disembarked  in  a  small 
row-boat,  and  when  they  landed  the  forts  saluted  them 
by  firing  a  number  of  guns,  while  the  band  played 
'^ God  save  the  Queens  Perhaps  people  , thought  they 
might  harm  the  Queen.  They  bowed  to  the  authori- 
ties, and  were  borne  away  in  a  number  of  sedan-chairs 
by  ragged  Chinamen,  who  did  not  seem  to  appreciate 
the  dignity  of  having  the  honor  of  carrying  such  pas- 
sengers up  the  streets  to  the  Governor's  residence. 

At  eight  A.M.,  in  company  of  my  friend  Mr.  Taylor,  I 
embarked  on  the  Kin-shaii  for  Canton,  and  owing  to  an 
opposition  line  of  steamboats  the  fare  was  only  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  for  first-class  European  passen- 
gers. It  was  a  splendid  day.  High,  barren,  but  ro- 
mantic islands  presented  themselves  to  our  view,  till  we 
passed  the  mouth  of  the  Canton  River,  which  here  is 
about  eight  miles  wide,  just  a  short  distance  from 
where  it  enters  into  the  sea,  when  the  land  assumed  a 
flat  and  more  agricultural  appearance.  What  surprised 
me  was  that,  on  entering  the  saloon,  it  had  the  look  of 
a  fortress  ready  to  resist  an  attack  from  the  enemy.    In 


*  Tiffin  is  the  name  given  in  India  to  the  noon  luncheon. 


CHINESE  AND  MALA  V  PIRA  TES.  203 

the  middle  there  were  two  piles  of  loaded  muskets  with 
bayonets  arranged  in  a  circle,  in  the  fashion  of  those 
belonging  to  the  soldiers  on  guard.  On  one  side  there 
were  swords,  cimetars,  and  cutlasses ;  on  the  other  side 
a  good  number  of  axes.  Then  a  table  full  of  pistols 
and  revolvers,  and  close  to  this  another  table  contain- 
ing a  quantity  of  ammunition,  consisting  of  cartridges, 
powder,  balls,  shot,  etc.  I  went  on  deck  astern.  There 
I  saw  an  officer  holding  a  drawn  cutlass  in  his  right 
hand,  while  his  left  hand  clasped  the  butt  of  a  revolver, 
peeping  from  his  breast  pocket.  He  had  one  foot  on 
deck,  and  another  on  an  iron  grate,  which  was  a  venti- 
lator for  the  hold  where  there  was  a  large  number  of 
Chinese,  on  whom  he  had  fixed  his  eyes.  I  asked  him 
for  an  explanation  of  this  proceeding.  "  These  China- 
men," said  he,  "are  a  set  of  people  not  to  be  trusted. 
They  are  thieves,  assassins,  and  pirates.  They  plot 
with  the  Malay  junks,  which  they  signal  at  some  dis- 
tance in  the  river  or  bay.  At  the  approaching  of  the 
junks  to  assault  the  steamer  the  Chinese  revolt,  and  if 
they  succeed  they  seize  the  ship,  assassinate  the  officers, 
and  murder  or  rob  the  passengers,  and  after  having 
plundered  the  steamer,  they  either  sink  or  abandon  the 
vessel.  Now  they  can  not  do  it,  because  where  the\' 
stay  there  are  no  windows,  nor  are  they  allowed  to 
leave  the  hold.  An  officer  armed  to  the  teeth  watches 
the  gate  f";f)\vn  below,  which  is  a  strr)ng  iron  grate,  and 
it  is  well  secured  by  iron  bar;;  and  locks.  At  the  Ica.st 
movement  (yx  signal  of  revolt  on  the  part  of  the  Chi- 
nese, the  guard  fires  on  thc'ni  down  below,  and  I  do  the 
same  frc^m  above.  Should  a  pir.ite  junk  approach  the 
steamer,  there  are  plenty  of  arms,  not  for  tlie  crew,  but 
for  all  first-class  ])assengers  and  n^'spcctahle  Chinamen, 
who  are  on  the  second  tleck.  The  Mala\-s  and  (Hiiiuse 
in  this  river,  and  on  this  coast  in  general,  are  the  great- 


204 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


est  thieves  and  pirates  of  the  world."  I  went  to  the 
second  deck,  and  perceived  that  these  Chinamen  were 
respectable  people ;  they  were  merchants,  office-hold- 
ers, and  such-like.  I  had  the  curiosity  to  descend  to 
the  low  class.  Oh,  what  a  sight !  A  grated,  heavy 
iron  gate,  well  secured  with  massive  padlocks,  giving 
the  appearance  of  a  dungeon,  and  an  armed  officer 
holding  a  revolver  ready  to  fire.  He  was  kind  enough 
to   open    the   gate   for  mc,  and   having   taken    a   short 


CillNESIC    SAMPAN. 


glimpse  into  the  prison,  full  to  its  utmost  capacit}-  with 
men,  women,  and  children ;  some  squatting,  others 
asleep,  and  others  whispering ;  and  the  atmosphere  n(^t 
being  very  jjleasant,  I  soon  returned  to  the  saloon. 

We  met  several  Chinese  sampans  and  ]\Ialay  junks, 
all  well  armed,  and  having  one  or  two  cannon  on  deck, 
apparently  all  for  self-protection  against  pirates ;  but  a 
number  of  them  arc  pirates  themselves  when  a  favor- 
able occasion  presents  itself,  while  others  are  alternately 
pirates  and  traders.     We  passed  several  decaying  forti- 


A  BEAUTIFUL  COUNTRY. 


205 


fications,  some  still  armed  with  old  cannon ;  and  not- 
withstanding the  treaty  with  England  and  France  that 
no  fortifications  should  be  either  built  or  repaired  from 
Hong-Kong  to  Canton,  on  the  river,  yet  I  saw  that 
the  Chinese  were  restoring  two  of  them.  At  one  P.M.  I 
took  tififin,  for  which  I  paid  one  dollar.  It  consisted  of 
soup,  fish,  several  kinds  of  fowl,  vegetables,  sweetmeats, 
two  kinds  of  good  European  wines  and  brandy  ;  coffee 
or  tea  at  the  end. 

The  country  is  truly  beautiful  and  romantic.  We 
passed  Bogues,  known  also  by  the  name  of  Bocca-Ti- 
gris ;  then  Whampoa  and  the  handsome  tower  or  pa- 
goda, having  nine  elegant  and  graceful  stories.  At  th's 
port  of  Whampoa,  all  foreign  sailing  vessels  are  to  dis- 
charge their  cargoes  when  destined  for  Canton.  In  the 
village  there  is  a  British  Consul,  who  displays  the  En- 
glish colors  every  time  that  the  steamers  pass  each  way. 
The  scenery  now  changes.  Near  Honan  (Whampoa) 
the  stream  divides  into  several  branches,  and  that  on 
which  the  travelers  sail  up  to  Canton,  is  called  Pc- 
kiang  (Pearl  River),  fifteen  miles  from  Canton.  By  a 
sharp  bend  the  steamer  Kin-shan  turned  to  the  right. 
The  river  becomes  narrow,  the  banks  ver}-  low,  the  land 
flat  and  covered  with  rice-fields,  orange  and  lemon 
trees,  sugar-canes,  and  groups  of  large,  majestic  trees. 
Here  and  there  you  see  villages  thickly  scattered  about, 
but  they  are  chiefly  composed  of  miserable  huts,  built 
on  piles  driven  into  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  depots  of 
pawnbrokers,  ha\-ing  towers  resembling  Cothic  spires 
or  crenellated  castles.  The  (Iclds  now  unfold  extreme 
beaut}'  of  vegetation.  \\  e  met  some  Chinese  men-of- 
war,  mounting  twenty  lo  fortv'  guns,  having  two  im- 
mense painted  eyes  let  into  their  prow,  to  enable  them 
to  find  their  way  across  tlie  (Ujminions  of  Neptune,  as 
the  Chinese  affirm. 


2o6 


A    TOUR  TN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


Here  the  officers  opened  the  iron  gates  which  shut 
the  Chinese  in  the  hold  ;  but  they  did  not  yet  allow 
them  to  come  out  of  their  prison.  The  presence  of  the 
men-of-war  stationed  at  different  places  along  the  river 
is  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  safety  against  riot. 

The  scene  on  the  river  is  exceedingly  animated  and 


W  llAMTOA. 


amusing.  At  a  i^reat  distance  are  seen  the  outlines  of 
the  White  Cloud  Mountains,  and  their  name  is  exceed- 
ingly appropriate.  There  you  may  see  numerous  junks 
of  immense  size  (from  500  to  1,600  tons  burthen)  most 
curiously  shaped,  having  poops  that  hang  over  the 
water,  ornamented  with  large  windows,  extensive  gal- 


CHINESE  BOAT  SYSTEM. 


207 


leries,  and  covered  in  with  roofs,  like  houses.  Numbers 
of  houses  are  seen  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  on 
the  ishmd  of  Honan.  Flower-boats,  with  their  gal- 
leries tastefully  decorated  with  flowers.  Other  boats, 
stationary,  are  used  by  the  Chinese  as  places  of  amuse- 
ment, both  by  day  and  night.  They  contain  large 
apartments,  having  the  walls  hung  with  mirrors  and 
silk  drapery,  and  suspended  from  the  center  of  the 
vessel,  ornamented  with  chandeliers,  paper  lanterns, 
flower-vessels,  etc.  Here  plays,  ballets,  and  many  con- 
juring tricks  are  performed.  Quack  dentists  operate 
upon  all  afflicted  with  the  toothache,  and  most  dex- 
terously (by  sleight  of  hand)  extract  with  a  small  pin 
the  small  worm,  which  the  deceitful  dentist  declares  is 
snugly  housed  in  the  aching  tooth.  No  females  fre- 
quent these  boats,  except  those  whose  character  is 
very  questionable. 

The  details  of  the  scenery  are  the  same  as  are  seen  in 
other  Chinese  towns,  but  the  whole  is  interesting  and 
imposing,  'i  he  Kin-slian  passed  through  an  avenue  of 
boat-hotels  in  which  natixe  travelers,  arrixing  in  the 
morning  in  their  junks  and  about  to  start  again  the  next 
morning,  take  a  night's  lodging.  Thc\-  coultl  not  go 
into  the  town,  because  the  doors  of  the  cit\-  are  shut  at 
sunset  and  opened  about  the  rising  of  tlie  sun.  On  tlie 
arrival  of  the  steamboat  at  the  qua>',  tlic  scene  became 
more  animated.  A  crowd  of  small  rowing-boats  sur- 
rounded us,  but  we  were  glad  to  find  a  boat  belonging 
to  the  proprietor  of  the  Canton  Hotel,  the  only  hotel 
in  Canton  (the  others  having  been  washed  away  b)-  the 
river  last  year),  who  took  charge  of  our  baggage,  and 
transported  us  to  the  op[)osite  shore  of  tlie  river  on  the 
island  of  Honan, '-•  where  the  hotel  was  jcjcated.  This' 
island  is  in  front  (A  Canton  and  forms  part  of  the  c:t\'. 

*  Honan  is  alsf)  spcIU-d  Iloiiani, 


CHAPTER    XT. 

Can'Tox  continued. 

The  landing  at  the  hotel  reminded  me  of  Venice.  A 
flight  of  over  half  a  dozen  of  stone  steps  leads  to  the 
large  door  of  the  hotel,  and  the  boat  brings  you  just  to 
these  steps.  At  high  tide  you  disembark  just  at  the 
door.  This  hotel,  like  all  the  rest  in  China,  possesses 
nothing  very  attractive.  An  intelligent  traveler-  speak- 
ing of  CJic-fou  as  a  place  of  resort  in  the  Yellow  Sea, 
opposite  Corea,  remarks,  that  during  the  hot  season, 
rich  merchants  and  diplomats  repair  to  that  town  whose 
climate  is  the  most  healthful  and  temperate  on  the  whole 
coast.  "  Then,"  he  says,  "  this  solitude  is  brightened 
up  a  little.  One  sees  smart  and  elegant  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen in  bathing  costumes,  all  lodged  in  two  or  three 
wretched  little  houses,  but  well  fed  by  a  certain  Signor 
Pigjiatcili,  an  enterprising  Italian,  who  has  had  the 
courage  to  open  a  hotel  (the  best  in  China)  on  this  in- 
hospitable shore."  The  rooms  are  separated  from  each 
other  by  a  thin  board  compartment,  seven  or  eight 
feet  high,  but  all  open  at  the  top  under  one  single  roof, 
so  that  it  can  be  said  that  it  is  only  one  long  room 
divided  into  two  or  three  partitions.  From  the  top  of 
these  partitions  to  the  ceiling  there  is  a  height  of  about 
eight  or  nine  feet  of  empty  space  common  to  all  rooms; 
hence   the   same   air  circulates   in  all  rooms ;  you  can 


*Baron  De  Iliibncr,  "  A  Rambler  round  the  World." 
{208) 


TEMPLES  TO  BUDDHA. 


209 


hear  everything  that  is  done  in  the  other  rooms  against 
your  will,  and  peep,  too,  if  you  like,  through  holes  and 
cracks,  covered  with  paper,  or  by  stepping  on  a  high 
chair. 

Our  hotel-keeper — a  very  accommodating  Portuguese 
—condescended  to  be  our  guide  in  Canton.    Soon  after 


THE   GRKAT    STATUF.    OF   liUDDIIA. 

our  arrival  we  commenced  our  visits,  beginning  at  the 
island  of  Ilonan,  where  our  hotel  was  situated.  On 
the  way  to  the  Ilonan  Temple  (the  best  in  all  China), 
we  saw  several  temples  dedicated  to  lUuJdha.  They 
were  not  large;  an  altar  in  the  end,  and  a  statue  of 
Buddha  in  a  squatting  position,  the  hands  on  the  lap. 


210  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  face  in  a  sober,  meditating  expression,  and  the 
head  covered  by  a  short,  round  cap.  Flowers,  grains 
of  rice,  and  joss-sticks,*  were  on  the  altar,  near  which 
were  people  standing,  or  squatting,  or  bending  in  pro- 
found meditation ;  but  the  large  crowd  outside,  beg- 
ging and  annoying  you,  is  truly  a  pest.  I  gave  a  few 
copper  coins  to  get  rid  of  them.  But,  lo !  instantly  I 
became  surrounded  by  such  a  crowd  of  people  of  every 
age,  opening  their  hands,  howling,  and  pressing  on  me  in 
such  a  manner  that  our  guide,  perceiving  my  distressed 
position,  came  to  my  rescue,  and  instructed  me  that  if  I 
would  wish  to  avoid  such  an  unpleasant  position  again, 
to  give  nothing  in  public.  Before  entering  the  tem- 
ples, there  is  generally  a  large  porch,  and,  on  passing 
the  arched  gate,  you  find  two  colossal  statues,  either  of 
Buddha,  or  of  the  god  Pion,f  or  of  musicians.  This  is 
the  general  view  of  the  Chinese  temples,  which  nearly 
all  present  the  same  features.  We  then  directed  our- 
selves to  the  great  temple  of  Buddha  in  Honan.  Pass- 
ing the  avenue  and  two  gateways,  we  reached  the  first 
pavilion,  which  is  the  temple  where  the  Bonzes  offici- 
ate early  in  the  morning,  and  at  five  o'clock  P.M.  This 
pavilion  is  entered  by  three  large  doors,  all  on  one 
side,  fronting  the  gateways.  A  small  silver  coin  opened 
the  middle  door,  and  gave  us  admittance  into  the  pa- 
vilion. In  the  middle  of  it,  and  fronting  tlie  center 
door,  there  is  a  kind  of  large  altar,  on  wliich  there  are 
three  large  gilt  statues  of  Buddha,  bef(jre  which  are 
candlesticks  with  candles  and  joss-sticks.  In  front  of 
this,  about  two  yards  from  the  altar,  on  the  right  side 
on  entering,  there  is  a  small  instrument,  A\hich  the 
officiating  priest,  or  one  of  the  officiating  Bonzes,  strikes 


*yoss  means  God,  holy,  or  such-like. 
\  Pion  means  door-keeper. 


BUDDHIST  CONVENT. 


211 


with  a  tiny  bamboo  stick,  or  hammer,  when  they  say 
the  prayers.  Small  statues  of  idols  are  placed  in  front 
of  the  two  side  walls,  before  which  there  are  joss-sticks. 
On  the  right  side  wall,  near  the  door,  there  are  two 
bells,  one  very  large,  which  is  rung  with  a  bamboo 
hammer  before  worship,  a  small  water-tank,  and  some 
other  implements  used  in  the  Buddhist  worship.  The 
pavilion  is  not  large,  as  far  as  I  recollect ;  it  is  a  paral- 
lelogram about  twenty  feet  long  and  twenty-two  wide 


STREET    SCENE    IN    CANI'ON. 


In  the  second  pavilion  is  a  marble  pagoda.  This  tem- 
]j1c  is  not  very  ancient  ;  it  was  only  founded  A.]).  1600, 
and  enlarged  about  A.i).  1700.  The  grounds  contain  six 
or  eight  acres.  Wc  passed  to  the  west  side  by  two 
narrow  corridors,  and  at  our  right,  in  a  large  stone  in- 
closure,  there  were  three  big  fat  hogs.  These  arc  the 
sac?-cd p{<^s,  fattened  by  many  sacred  offerings  of  food. 
Woe  to  him  who  would  molest  them  !  They  are  the 
only  individuals  of  that  species  allowed  to  die  a  natural 
death.     We  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Superior,  who 


212  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

received  us  very  kindly  in  a  neat  room  full  of  curiosi- 
ties, some  very  childish.  He  gave  us  tea  and  sweet, 
dried  fruits,  the  product  of  the  garden.  Not  being  to 
my  taste,  I  thankfully  declined  them.  The  Superior 
took  us  into  the  garden,  which  is  truly  worth  seeing. 
There  were  many  flower-plants  for  sale.  In  one  corner 
of  the  garden,  on  the  east  side,  is  a  place  for  burning 
the  bodies  of  dead  Bon/.es,  and  a  mausoleum  for  their 
ashes.  There  they  have  placed  the  urns  containing  the 
ashes  of  each  carefully  ticketed.  Although  the  Chinese 
are  always  meditating  on  death,  yet  they  have  a  horror 
of  a  corpse.  There  is  a  separate  building  which  is  the 
abode  of  the  dying.  This  convent  maintains  the  cruel 
custom  of  carrying  thither  those  sick  monks  who  may 
be  givcTi  up  by  the  doctors,  or  who  have  arrived  to  a 
very  old  age.  What  goes  on  inside  is  not  revealed. 
This,  hi:)wever,  is  certain,  that  he  who  has  been  carried 
thither,  will  never  come  out  of  it  alive.  The  convent 
looks  like  a  miniature  town,  streets,  and  houses — the 
abode  of  the  monks.  The  Superior  showed  to  us  a 
room  where  there  was  a  number  of  coffins  placed  verti- 
cally and  ticketed  with  the  names  of  the  owners. 
"  These  coffins,"  said  he,  "  do  not  belong  to  us,  but 
they  arc  deposited  here,  because  it  is  a  holy  place. 
They  are  generally  presents  by  affectionate  children  to 
their  parents  when  they  have  arrived  at  their  sixty- 
first  year."  The  number  of  I^onzes  is  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty. 

Being  the  hour  for  their  supper,  we  passed  by  the 
Refectory.  They  were  eating  boiled  rice.  There  were 
no  table-cloths  on  the  tables.  After  supper  they  rose, 
and  after  prayers  in  a  low  voice,  they  defiled  in  silence. 
The  Bonzxs  have  no  reading  at  table  ;  they  make  no 
noise  in  saying  grace;  they  only  whisper,  h" routing 
the  Offertory  there  is  a  kitchen,  which   is  very  simple 


THE  BONZES.  213 

and  possessing  but  few  utensils ;  the  Bonzes  are  very- 
modest  in  their  meals.  The  Superior  showed  us  an 
ancient,  colossal  cauldron,  used  only  to  boil  rice,  and 
distribute  to  the  people  in  time  of  famine.  Here  the 
Superior  said  chin-chin  (good-bye),  and  went  away.  Let 
us  go  now  to  the  temple  to  see  their  manner  of  worship, 
because  it  is  near  six  o'clock  P.M.  No  person,  not  even 
a  Buddhist,  is  allowed  in  the  pavilion  during  worship ; 
but  we  were  permitted  to  look  from  the  middle  door, 
which  was  expressly  opened  for  us ;  a  very  low  balus- 
trade, however,  was  placed  on  the  threshold,  through 
and  over  which  we  could  see  perfectly  well. 

All  candles  and  joss-sticks  were  lighted.  The  Bonzes, 
about  twenty  in  number,  had  commenced  to  worship. 
About  five  Bonzes  were  in  front  of  the  altar ;  one,  who 
appeared  to  be  the  celebrant,  was  near  the  door,  and 
turned  to  the  west,  had  a  kind  of  yellow  pluvial,  not 
clasped,  but  folded  over  on  the  left  shoulder.  The 
others  were  distributed  all  round  the  walls,  with  the 
exception  of  four,  who  were  at  the  foot  of  the  altar; 
all  on  their  knees,  with  joined  hands,  and  dressed  in 
yellow  silk  robes,  like  pluvials  without  clasps,  and  hav- 
ing their  back  turned  to  the  altar,  and  with  nothing  on 
their  shaved  heads ;  except  the  Superior,  they  had  the 
appearance  of  monks.  I  must  do  justice  to  the  devo- 
tion, piety,  recollection,  and  earnestness  which  they 
manifested.  Except  the  Superior,  or  director,  who 
only  once  turned  his  eyes  to  us,  the  rest  were  intensely 
plunged  in  a  profound  meditation.  I  was  very  much 
edified  with  them.  May  the  Lord  illuminate  their 
blindness,  and  open  their  eyes,  that  they  may  turn  their 
heart  from  idolatry  to  the  worship  of  the  true  living 
God  in  the  bosom  of  the  holy  mother  Catholic  Church. 

Although  we  could  not  understand  their  prayer,  the 
nearest  idea  that  I  can  give  of  it  is,  that  it  resembles  a 


214 


A    TO  17 J?  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


recital  of  the  Rosary.  The  Superior  kept  time,  accom- 
panied by  the  tam-tams,  by  striking  the  above-men- 
tioned instrument  with  a  small  stick ;  then,  after  a 
space  of  time  employed  for  the  recital  of  a  decade,  he 
gave  one  stroke  to  the  bell  near  to  him,  and  all  changed 
tone.  After  the  space  of  a  Gloria,  they  resumed  the 
former  tone,  as  if  it  were  another  decade,  the  Superior 
continuing  to  keep  time,  and  tapping  as  before.  The 
prayer  was  recited  in  two  choruses  alternatively.  After 
a  number  of  these,  which  I  call  decades,  they  all  rose 
from  their  knees,  turned  themselves,  now  against  the 
wall,  now  fronting  each  other,  and  always  saying  prayers, 
making  inclinations,  genuflexions,  etc.  The  celebrant 
kissed  the  earth  two  or  three  times,  then  prostrated 
himself  on  his  face,  and  praying  in  this  position,  hav- 
ing the  face  on  the  earth.  I  observed  that  in  mak- 
ing genuflexions  all  knelt  on  the  ground,  except  the 
Superior,  under  whose  knee  a  pillow  was  placed,  just 
as  I  have  seen  done  with  some  of  our  bishops  when 
they  kneel.  Perhaps  he  was  a  bishop,  as  he  wore  on 
his  head  a  kind  of  crown,  not  precisely  of  the  form  of  a 
mitre,  nor  of  that  kind  on  the  head  of  Buddha,  but  of 
a  shape  which  participates  of  both  forms.  After  some 
other  prayers  in  the  time  and  tone  of  the  Rosary,  all,  one 
by  one,  went  in  procession  round  inside  the  temple  close 
to  the  wall ;  this  three  times  singing  and  marching  in 
the  same  tone  and  time  ;  after  which  they  retired  by  a 
door  beside  the  altar.  In  returning  to  the  hotel  we 
saw  joss-sticks  burning  before  the  Manes,  or  the  im- 
age of  Buddha  sculptured  on  the  wall  near  the  door 
of  nearly  every  shop.  The  Chinese  pay  a  kind  of 
religious  worship  to  their  ancestors,  and  perform  cer- 
tain ceremonies  around  their  tombs,  and  keep  the 
Manes  in  a  kind  of  shrine  in  their  shops,  before 
which,  morning  and  evening,  they  burn  joss-sticks.     It 


yOSS-STJCKS  AND  CHINESE  CROCKERY, 


215 


is  certain  that  Confucius  had  enjoined  it  as  a  duty  to  his 
disciples  to  revere  their  ancestors,  but  he  never  taught 


A    (iAKDKN. 


them    to    |)ay   a    kind    of    rclii^n'ous    worship    to    th(.Mn. 
(icncrally,  tlie  sticks  were  about    half  a   fool,  or  k'ss,  in 


2 1 6  A   TOUR  IN  BO  Til  HEMISPHERES. 

length,  and  one-fourth  of  an  inch  thick.  The  number 
was  mostly  three  ;  seldom  one  or  five.  Near  the  hotel 
there  was  one  of  the  best  factories  of  Chinese  crockery. 
I  was  permitted  to  inspect  the  process  of  coloring,  gild- 
ing, baking,  etc.,  the  porcelain.  Although  the  nature 
of  the  two  kinds  of  earth,  the  union  of  which  forms  the 
porcelain,  is  found  and  used  in  Europe,  yet  the  Euro- 
pean porcelain  is  inferior  to  the  Oriental  in  hardness, 
strength,  durability,  and  the  permanence  of  its  glaze. 
Nor  even  the  French,  who  are  considered  the  best 
Europeans  in  manufacturing  porcelain,  have  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  learning  several  of  the  processes  successfully 
practiced  by  the  Chinese. 

I  was  surprised  to  see  the  amount  of  labor  bestowed 
on  the  external  decoration  of  this  porcelain.  Each 
piece  is  separately  painted  by  hand,  with  devices  of 
different  subjects.  The  colors  used  are  the  same  as 
those  employed  in  other  kinds  of  enameling.  When 
one  color  requires  to  be  laid  over  another,  this  is  per- 
formed by  a  second  operation  ;  and  it  often  happens 
that  a  piece  of  porcelain  must  go  into  the  enamel-kiln 
four  or  five  times,  especially  when  a  great  variety  of 
colors  is  contained  in  the  painting.  The  value  of  the 
finest  and  most  costly  kinds  of  porcelain  is  not  so 
much  derived  from  the  qualit}'  of  their  material  as 
from  the  labor  bestowed  on  their  external  decoration  ; 
hence,  when  the  pieces  are  separately  p.ainted  by  hand, 
their  value  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  piece,  the 
number  and  brilliancy  of  colors,  and  especially  on  the 
skill  and  finish  exhibited  by  the  artist  in  the  design,  as 
specimens  of  art.  PVance  sends  manufactured  porce- 
lain to  be  colored  in  Canton.  The  best  porcelain  sold 
in  every  part  of  China  is  manufactured  or  colored  in 
Canton. 

Next  day  being  the  festival  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 


A   CHINESE  SAMPAN. 


217 


ception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  I  desired  to  say 
Mass.  Arrangements  were  made  with  the  hotel-keeper 
to  go  early  to  the  Cathedral,  and  after  Mass  to  return 
immediately  to  breakfast ;  have  three  sedan-chairs  ready, 
and  spend  the  day  in  visiting  the  principal  objects  of 
the  city.  It  is  a  well-admitted  fact,  that  he  who  has 
not  seen  Canton,  has  not  seen  China,  no  matter  how 
many  cities  of  this  nation  he  may  have  visited  ;  and  he 
who  has  seen  Canton,  can  be  said  to  know  China.  Be- 
cause all  cities  are  a  copy  of  Canton  in  a  diminutive 
and  imperfect  manner. 

At  daylight,  in  company  with  the  hotel-keeper,  I 
took  a  sampan  and  descended  the  river  about  a  mile 
on  the  opposite  shore,  being  the  nearest  landing  to  go 
to  the  Cathedral.  In  the  sampan  there  were  joss-sticks 
yet  burning  before  the  image  of  Buddha,  and  at  the 
other  end,  where  there  was  a  bed,  other  joss-sticks  were 
burning  before  the  Mcdics.  This  was  the  residence 
where  two  women,  or  a  wife  and  husband,  were  dwell- 
ing. The  bed  was  in  a  disordered  state,  which  showed 
that  the  occupants  had  just  got  up.  The  kitchen  occu- 
pied the  middle  of  the  sampan,  and  was  covered  with 
canvas,  as  it  is  used  also  for  a  dining-room.  I  remarked 
to  the  woman,  the  only  person  in  charge  of  the  sampan, 
that  those  burning  joss-sticks  might  set  fire  to  the  boat 
and  to  us.  She  and  the  hotel-keeper  smiled.  It  was  a 
strange  sight  to  pass,  as  it  were,  through  an  avenue  of 
boats  of  every  size  and  description,  whose  inhabitants 
were  just  rising,  dressing,  or  preparing  to  sail.  In  nearly 
every  boat  I  could  see  the  burning  joss-sticks.  The 
woman  managed  to  steer  the  sampan  clear  of  the  current 
and  the  crowd  of  boats,  but  when  making  for  the  land- 
ing it  was  difficult  to  pass  through  the  large  number  of 
vessels;  yet  b)-  pushing  this,  hooking  that,  speaking  to 

one,  and  crying  to  another,  she  succeeded  in  reaching 
10 


2 1 8  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  landing,  and  we  stepped  on  the  road  of  the  Ca- 
thedral. 

A  missionary,  looking  and  dressed  perfectly  like  a 
Chinese,  took  me  to  the  vestry  and  arranged  everything 
for  me  to  s;iy  Mass.  His  queue  nearly  reached  his  feet, 
but  the  most  of  it  was  only  artificial.  After  the  chas- 
uble was  put  on,  he  took  a  mitre,  or  what  appeared  to 
be  a  mitre — it  was  certainly  an  Episcopal  crown,  having 
even  the  two  flat  tails  hanging  on  the  shoulders — and 
laid  it  on  my  head.  I  remonstrated,  and  tried  to  take 
it  off.  He  insisted.  I  said  that  I  never  cared  for  it, 
and  would  not  like  it  to  be  said  that  I  had  worn  a 
mitre.  He  insisted  again,  saying  that  it  was  an  order 
from  Rome  to  wear  it.  Hearing  Rome,  I  obeyed  him 
immediately,  and  allowed  him  to  put  the  mitre  on  my 
head.  But  I  could  scarcely  subdue  a  convulsion  of 
laughter.  yVrrivcd  at  the  altar,  I  removed  the  mitre, 
but  the  sacristan  took  it  and  put  it  again  on  my  head. 
At  the  Gospel  I  took  it  away,  but  it  was  at  once  put 
on  my  head  again.  At  the  consecration  I  removed  it, 
and  left  it  on  the  altar,  watching  that  nobody  should 
put  it  on  me  again  ;  but  I  allowed  it  to  be  put  on  my 
head  after  communion. 

After  Mass  one  of  the  two  missionaries  came  to  me 
saying  that  his  lordship,  Mgr.  Guillclminc  Rine,  had 
just  finished  Mass,  and  was  waiting  for  me  to  take 
breakfast.  I  thanked  them  very  much,  and  excused 
myself,  because  I  was  expected  to  return  immediately 
to  the  hotel  to  breakfast  with  the  party.  l^ut  this 
proved  of  no  avail.  The  hotel-keeper  said  that  he 
would  wait  for  me  ;  so  I  went  to  breakfast  with  the 
Bishop.  He  absolutely  wanted  me  to  stop  with  him 
during  my  stay  in  Canton,  but  I  remarked  to  him  that 
I  could  not  remain  long,  hence  I  desired  to  spend  that 
little  time  to  visit  the  city  and  what  was  worth  seeing 


^S^^^«<i^^^^ssS^Sr^^^-::^zg:^^^g^; 


A  Chinese  Street  Scene. 


A  STROLL  THROUGH  CANTON. 


219 


therein,  which  I  could  not  do  very  well  were  I  to  accept 
his  kind  hospitality.  He  invited  me  to  dine  with  him, 
which  honor  I  was  obliged  to  decline  for  the  same  rea- 
son ;  but  I  accepted  an  invitation  to  sup  with  him  that 
evening. 

Returned  to  the  hotel,  we  found  everything  arranged 
for  spending  the  day  in  visiting  the  city.  Before  leav- 
ing the  hotel  the  landlord  changed  a  few  dollars  into 
small  silver  coins  of  ten  or  twelve  cents  for  each  of  us, 
as  it  is  necessary  to  have  such  small  change  while  visit- 
ing a  Chinese  city.  We  crossed  the  Pearl  River  in  a 
sampan  in  charge  of  two  women,  and  saw  the  custom- 
house, where  the  chief  officer  was  an  Italian  ;  then  in 
the  same  sampan  we  passed  under  several  massive  stone 
bridges  which  connect  the  SJiaviccn  to  the  main-land. 
Shameen  is  the  chief  residence  of  foreign  merchants. 
The  wall  around  it  was  built  in  1859-62,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $325,000,  including  the  filling.  The  Shameen 
contains  a  library  and  reading-room.  On  the  main-land 
we  found  three  sedan-chairs  prepared  for  us,  and  eight 
Chinamen,  two  for  each  chair,  and  two  to  spare,  who 
often  relieve  the  others.  Those  two  poor  creatures 
who  were  detailed  to  me  found  it  quite  a  job,  as  the 
other  two  of  the  party  being  light,  it  was  easier  work 
for  the  others. 

In  going  through  those  long,  very  narrow  and  crowded 
streets  of  Canton  it  was  very  amusing  to  hear  the  China- 
men who  carried  us,  cr}'ing  loud  :  "  Tai-quot,  he  tuway 
— Hawa — Astawe — Wastalla-w^n — WastAIlawc  "  (out  of 
the  way — look  out  for  your  bones — take  care  of  your 
limbs),  and  such-like  exjiressions.  In  Canal  Street  we 
saw  the  lacqucrware  and  silversmith  shops.  In  White 
Rice  Street  the  chinawarc  for  the  European  market, 
etc.,  etc. 

In  front  of  Mi-cJiau  temple  is  Beggars'  Square,  where 


220  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

many  beggars  pass  the  night.  They  charged  at  us  beg- 
ging, but  our  Chinamen  chased  them.  In  Sai-loi  Street 
we  entered  the  Temple  of  500  Genii,  or  Flowery  Forest 
Monastery,  founded  A.D.  503  ;  rebuilt  A.D.  1755.  About 
sixty  or  seventy  Bonzes  dwell  in  it,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
-Acalthiest  temples  in  the  city.  On  the  left  of  the 
entrance  to  the  first  pavilion  is  the  dining-room.  On 
the  left  of  the  first  pavilion  is  the  guest-room.  In  the 
first  pavilion  are  images  of  the  three  precious  Buddhas, 
and  in  the  second  a  marble  pagoda.  On  the  left  of  an 
open  space  in  the  rear  of  the  second  pavilion  is  the  hall 
of  500  gilt  statues,  some  life-size,  but  many  of  them 
only  busts.  This  hall  was  built  only  in  1846.  In  the 
center  of  the  north  side  of  this  hall  are  the  three  pre- 
cious liuddhas,  and  just  in  front  of  them  an  image  of 
the  Emperor  Kien-loong,  who  ascended  the  throne  A.D. 
1736,  and  reigned  sixty  years.  What  surprised  me  was 
that  amongst  these  500  genii  there  was  the  statue  of 
Marco  Polo  near  that  of  the  Emperor.  Marco  Polo 
was  magistrate  or  mandarin  in  Canton.  (See  Archdea- 
con Grey's  work  on  Canton).  Opposite  to  it  in  the 
same  hall  there  was  that  of  St.  P^'ancis  Xavier  dressed 
like  a  Spaniard.  Some  have  denied  that  it  is  St.  Fran- 
cis Xavier,  for  the  only  reason  that  this  saint  was  never 
in  China.  Ikit  if  they  had  known  that  these  statues 
had  come  from  India  they  would  not  have  made  this 
objection,  riiere  was  the  statue  of  Confucius  and  other 
great  personages,  amongst  whom  was  that  of  the  eminent 
Italian  astronomer  and  missionary,  P'athcr  Provano, 
dressed  like  a  Jesuit.  In  the  middle  passage  is  a  bronze 
pagoda.  In  the  rear  of  the  pavilions  is  a  space  for  ^fnn 
Fat  Lau,  or  hall  of  10,000  I3uddhas,  which  is  ribout  to 
be  built,  and  in  the  rear  of  that  a  garden.  Rooms  for 
I^onzes  are  on  both  sides  of  the  principal  buildings. 
Coming  out  of  this  temple  by  Longevity  Lane  is  the 


THE  CATHEDRAL.  221 

Temple  of  Longevity,  founded  in  1573,  and  attended 
by  about  sixty-five  Bonzes.  In  the  first  pavilion  are 
statues  of  the  three  precious  Buddhas.  In  the  second 
pavilion  is  a  seven-story  pagoda  with  seventy-nine  im- 
ages of  Buddha  in  it.  In  the  third  pavilion  is  the 
statue  of  a  laughing  Buddha  reclining — ^the  only  one 
statue  of  Buddha  in  this  expression  that  I  have  found 
in  the  East.  At  the  entrance  to  this  temple  a  fair  is 
held  every  morning  for  the  sale  of  jade-stone  and  other 
ornaments.  Near  this  lane  in  Tai-hong  Street  you  can 
see  silk-damask  weaving,  and  shops  with  many  other 
objects  worth  visiting. 

We  passed  to  Hemp-Market  Street  to  sec  the  splen- 
did Catholic  cathedral,  built  on  the  site  of  the  Viceroy 
Yeh's  Yamun,  begun  i860.  It  is  236  feet  long,  and 
88  feet  wide.  The  walls  are  of  solid  granite  from  Kow- 
loon,  opposite  Hong-Kong.  The  tower  is  80  feet  high. 
In  the  rear  of  the  cathedral  is  a  school  for  boys,  with 
about  one  hundred  scholars,  and  an  orphanage  for 
girls,  built  in  1862.  But  I  was  very  much  surprised  to 
find  close  to  it  a  temple  dedicated  to  the  Queen  of 
Heaven,  T'in-hau.  This  temple  is  well  built,  airy,  and 
neatly  kept.  In  Four  Monument  Street  there  is  the 
Smooth  Pagoda,  160  feet  high,  built  by  Arabian  trav- 
elers, about  A.D.  900;  rebuilt  in  1468.  Near  this  local- 
ity there  is  a  school  to  teach  the  Koran  in  Arabic.  In 
r^ast  Cross  Street  there  is  the  Temple  of  Emperors. 
Only  imperial  buildings  have  }'cllow  tiles.  The  Em- 
peror's tablet  is  placed  in  the  north  pavilion,  and  all 
the  mandarins,  both  civil  and  military,  worship  the 
tablet  by  prostrating  themselves  in  the  second  pavilion 
toward  the  tablet.  The  ceremony  takes  place  before 
daylight  on  the  ICmpcror's  birthday;  on  tlic  first  day  of 
the  Chinese  year;  and  on  the  occasion  of  an  Emperor's 
marriage.     This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  no  Catholig 


222  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  IIEMISPJIERES. 

can  become  a  madarin,  because  he  could  not  prostrate 
himself  and  worship  the  tablet  of  the  Emperor,  without 
committing  an  act  of  idolatry. 

Passing  along  Great  Market  Street  we  entered  the 
Temple  of  Five  Genii.  There  is  an  ascent  by  steps 
from  the  entrance  to  the  first  pavilion,  in  which  the 
chief  idol  is  Shangti.  On  the  east  side  of  this  pavilion 
is  a  hall  with  several  idols.  Behind  the  first  pavilion  is 
a  square  tower  with  an  arched  passage  20  feet  high  ; 
over  a  square  opening  in  the  middle  of  which  is  sus- 
pended a  large  bell,  said  to  weigh  10,000  pounds.  When 
the  city  was  bombarded  in  1857,  a  cannon-ball  knocked 
a  piece  out  of  this  bell. 

In  the  rear  of  the  bell-tower  is  the  Hall  of  the  Five 
Genii,  and  in  front  of  the  statues  arc  five  stones,  repre- 
senting five  rams.  The  legend  is,  that  the  Five  Genii 
came  to  Canton,  riding  through  the  air  on  five  rams, 
which  were  turned  into  stone,  and  preserved  in  this 
temple.  The  City  of  Rams,  one  of  the  names  of  Can- 
ton, originated  from  this  tradition.  Not  far  from  here, 
in  Nam-hoi  Street,  is  the  Confucian  temple  ;  where,  be- 
sides his  statue,  there  are  others  of  his  most  distin- 
guished disciples  and  commentators.  Students  occupy 
rooms  in  the  building  in  the  rear. 

The  Flowery  Pagoda  is  an  octagon  of  nine  stories 
high;  each  side  is  16  feet.  Height  of  octagon,  170 
feet  ;  built  about  A.l).  500.  In  the  Kivong-Jiaii  Temple 
• — one  of  the  principal  Buddhist  temples,  founded  A. 11. 
250 — there  are  two  small  granite  pagodas  in  the  front  of 
the  principal  pavilion.  In  the  second  story  of  a  build- 
ing on  the  east  side  is  a  statue  of  Buddha  sleeping. 

Now  we  ascend  the  Hill  of  the  Goddess  of  Mercy, 
which  is  devoted  to  temples,  and  is  considered  a  very 
sacred  place.  It  was  the  headquarters  of  the  I'Lnglish 
and  French  forces,  during  the  occupation  of  the  city  by 


THE  FIVE-STORY  PAGODA. 


223 


the  allies  from  1858  to  1862,  The  Temple  of  the  God- 
dess of  Mercy  is  resorted  to  by  officials  and  people. 
The  idol  is  of  brass,  and  there  is  a  sacred  bell.  The 
allies  used  this  and  other  temples  as  barracks,  and  one 
was  converted  into  a  chapel. 

On  this  Hill  of  the  Goddess  of  Mercy  there  is  a  Hall 
to  encourage  literary  men.  Three  scholars  appointed 
by  the  Viceroy  issue  texts,  and  prizes  of  from  one  to 
three  taels"  are  given  four  times  a  year,  for  the  best 
compositions.  Besides  many  other  temples,  there  is  a 
Buddhist  nunnery,  I  called  there.  The  inmates  look 
and  dress  like  nuns.  They  received  me  kindly ;  their 
number  is  about  sixty. 

Up  now  to  the  Five-Story  Pagoda^  which  is  on  the 
very  top  of  the  hill,  and  on  the  very  northern  extremity 
of  the  city  and  on  the  wall  of  it.  There  we  were  to  rest 
and  take  our  dinner,  which  was  sent  from  our  hotel. 
We  gave  some  money  to  our  Chinamen  to  buy  some- 
thing to  eat  for  themselves,  who,  besides,  got  all  that 
was  left  from  our  dinner.  My  men  wanted  something 
more  than  the  others,  and  I  gave  it  to  them  ;  they  well 
deserved  it.  Poor  creatures!  They  were  in  a  full  per- 
spiration! 

This  pagoda  was  built  in  the  years  of  the  Lord  1366 
and  1399.  From  one  of  the  upper  stories  there  is  the 
finest  view  of  the  city  and  surrounding  country.  We 
could  see  plainly  the  two  nine-story  pagodas  toward 
Whampoa.  Eastward,  the  W'hite  Cloud  hills  presented 
themselves  with  such  majesty,  beauty,  and  precision, 
that  it  seemed  as  if  you  could  touch  them  with  the 
hands.  The  Sai-chin  hills,  in  the  soutli-west,  displayed  a 
charming  view  of  rich  vegetation  and  romantic  charm. 


*  A  tael  weighs  \\  ounces.     A  tacl  of  fine  silver  is  worth  about 
6j.  8./. 


224  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

But  I  can  never  forget  the  enchanting  panorama  which 
the  north  side  unfolded  to  our  eyes.  An  immense 
plain,  studded  with  picturesque  villages  as  far  as  we 
could  see  !  The  entire  canton  was  under  our  eyes  and 
feet.  The  magnificent  Pearl  River  was  silently  rolling 
its  clear  and  abundant  water,  and  its  branch,  encircling 
the  northern  and  western  sides,  joining  again  the  main 
water,  gave  to  Canton  the  appearance  of  a  panorama 
framed  in  silver. 

After  dinner  we  commenced  again  our  tour.  We 
went  through  the  street  of  Benevolence  and  Love.  In  a 
temple  we  observed  a  woman  prostrated  before  the  altar 
of  the  idol,  upon  which  she  had  laid  offerings  of  flowers 
and  grains  of  rice.  She  had  kindled  joss-sticks,  then 
prostrated  herself  before  the  altar,  commenced  to  pray 
in  silence.  I  asked  the  guide  what  she  was  doing.  The 
guide  said,  ^'  She  wants  to  have  children,  and  this  is 
the  temple  of  Fecimdityy  She  got  up,  took  from  the 
altar  three  pieces  of  wood  about  four  inches  long, 
where  there  were  some  figures  engraved,  threw  them 
on  the  altar,  and  observed  the  position  and  figures 
presented  in  the  falling,  just  as  gamesters  throw  dice. 
By  the  manner  in  which  they  would  fall,  she  would  see 
whether  she  would  have  children  or  not.  She  tried 
several  times,  but  did  not  seem  to  be  satisfied.  We  ob- 
served that  she  even  shed  tears.  Perhaps  the  signs 
were  against  her  petition.  We  left  her  and  went  to 
the  Tartar  part  of  the  city,  which  had  the  appearance 
of  a  war-like  district.  Then  we  passed  into  the  Judg- 
ment Hall  for  the  examination  of  criminals. 

In  visiting  the  grounds  we  saw  a  good  number  of 
deer.  In  passing  by  the  residence  of  the  French  Con- 
sul, we  observed  a  great  crowd  of  Chinese,  witli  ban- 
ners, flags,  and  other  national  ensigns.  Then  some 
mandarins  in  state,  going  into  the  same  porch.     They 


THE   TEMPLE    OF    HORRORS. 


THE  PRISONS. 


225 


had  gone  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  consul,  who  was 
to  depart  for  Europe  by  the  next  French  steamer. 

We  entered  the  Temple  of  Horrors.  The  idol  is  the 
guardian  of  the  city.  This  temple  is  a  place  of  great 
resort  for  worshipers,  and  others.  In  the  large  yard  of 
the  temple,  before  entering  it,  we  were  surrounded  by 
a  number  of  fortune-tellers,  peddlers,  gamblers,  quacks, 
etc.,  who  do  a  large  business  here.  It  was  with  great 
difficulty  that  we  got  rid  of  them  by  entering  the  tem- 
ple at  once.  The  superintendent  pays  the  Kwofig- 
chau-fn,  magistrate,  and  his  subordinates,  about  $3,800 
for  three  years,  or  during  his  tenure  of  office,  and  re- 
munerates himself  by  renting  stalls  to  those  who  sell 
incense,  printed  slips  of  responses,  and  to  others  who 
do  business  here.  Great  crowds  resort  to  the  Temple 
of  the  New  Year. 

There  are  ten  punishments  exhibited  in  the  temple, 
five  on  either  side,  as  follows : 


WEST    SIDE. 

1.  Transmigration. 

2.  Grinding  a  man. 

3.  Boiling  a  man  in  oil. 

4.  Placing  a  man  under  a  hot  bell. 

5.  Beheading  a  man. 


EAST    SIDE. 

A  man  with  the  cangue  (a  kind 
of  narrow  cage,  allowing  only 
the  head  out  of  it). 

Sawing  a  man  between  two 
boards. 

Transmigration . 

Bastonading  a  man. 

Trial  of  a  criminal. 


We  now  went  to  sec  the  prisons.  First  we  entered 
a  dungeon  whose  profound  darkness  was  only  relieved 
by  a  few  rays  of  light  from  a  somber  room.  The  sight 
was  shocking,  the  smell  disgusting,  and  the  cries  and 
sighs  impressed  us  with  horror  and  fright.  There  a 
man  chained  to  the  wall  half  naked  and  starved,  with 
the  look  of  despair,  was  slowly  pacing  a  few  feet  of 
space   allowed   by  the   chain.      He,  with   tears    at    his 


226  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

eyes,  turning  to  me  with  an  agonizing  groan,  showed 
to  me  his  flesh,  rotten  and  full  of  worms,  and  falling 
to  the  ground  from  his  arms  and  legs  in  small  bits. 
Behind  him  another  criminal  condemned  to  the  terrible 
torture  of  the  cangue.  Both  pitifully  extended  their 
hands  for  some  money.  Who  had  the  heart  to  refuse 
it  !  The  jailors  turning  to  me  said  :  "To  us  you  must 
give  it,  and  not  to  those  rascals."  I  gave  also  some- 
thing to  the  jailors  to  satisfy  them,  and  left  the  dun- 
geon, not  being  able  to  stand  the  sight,  smell,  and  hor- 
ror of  it  any  longer. 

They  wanted  to  show  us  other  dungeons,  but  I  ob- 
jected ;  they  asked  me  to  see  the  prison  for  women, 
which  I  declined  ;  and  I  even  refused  to  see  the  apart- 
ments for  prisoners  who  have  money  or  position,  which 
are  comparatively  well  kept  and  clean.  This  class  of 
prisoners,  by  paying  an  exorbitant  price,  obtain  the  use 
of  a  separate  room.  They  can  be  liberated  even  from 
death  by  paying  money.  One  of  the  perquisites  of  the 
mandarin  director  of  the  house  is  the  letting  of  these 
rooms. 

We  entered  now  the  Judgment  Hall,  which  is  a  little 
oblong  court  close  to  the  great  prison.  I  must  confess 
that  I  saw  none  of  those  cruelties  and  barbarous  tor- 
tures so  much  exaggerated  by  travelers  with  strikingly 
vivid  colors.  The  judge  was  seated  with  great  dignity 
in  an  open  gallery,  with  a  table  before  him  full  of  pa- 
pers. The  clerk  was  seated  on  his  right,  and  an  inter- 
preter on  his  left.  Whether  these  were  all  judges,  or 
only  the  one  in  the  middle  of  them,  I  could  not  say. 
On  the  same  gallery  there  were  two  culprits  leaning  to 
the  wall ;  another  was  holding  his  trowsers,  already 
loosened,  prepared  to  receive  a  number  of  lashes  ;  while 
another,  prostrated  face  to  the  floor,  trowsers  dropped 
to  the  legs,  and  the  back  uncovered  to  the  shoulders, 


THE  CONFUCIAN  TEMPLE. 


227 


was  receiving  a  number  of  lashes  applied  by  the  execu- 
tioner with  a  small  bamboo  rod. 

The  executioner  was  kneeling  and  administering  the 
lashes  in  rapid  succession,  counting  them  in  an  audible 
voice,  striking  the  back  not  upon  the  flesh,  but  upon 
something  black  like  India-rubber,  of  the  size  of  an 
half-dollar,  pasted  on  the  skin.  Although  I  could  hear 
the  blows  very  distinctly,  yet  I  do  not  think  that  the 
culprit  was  hurt  much,  if  any  at  all. 

Having  finished  the  required  number,  the  executioner 
stopped,  and  took  a  paper  from  the  floor  near  him, 
while  the  lashed  man  rose,  drew  up  his  trowsers  without 
removing  from  his  back  what  appeared  to  me  the 
black  India-rubber,  and  without  any  other  ceremony 
went  away,  satisfied  that  the  performance  so  far  as  he 
was  concerned  was  over.  At  the  same  time  the  other 
delinquent  leaning  against  the  wall  of  the  gallery,  who 
had  already  prepared  himself  by  loosening  his  trowsers 
approached  the  place  of  lashing,  dropped  the  trowsers 
down  on  the  legs,  uncovered  his  back,  and  I  saw  that 
the  black  India-rubber  of  the  size  of  an  half-dollar  had 
already  been  pasted  on  his  back  upon  the  flesh.  The 
executioner  commenced  to  apply  the  lashes  in  the  same 
manner  as  before.  No  spectators  were  there  except 
ourselves,  and  we  did  not  remain  very  long. 

We  entered  the  Confucian  Temple.  It  seems  to  be 
an  error  to  believe  that  the  Chinese  worship  Confucius. 
They  venerate  him  only  as  a  great  philosopher  and 
founder  of  a  sect,  or,  I  would  rather  say,  a  school,  which 
can  be  compared  with  that  of  Zoroaster,  which  yet  exists 
in  China.  In  China  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  draw  a  line 
of  demarkation  between  religion  and  politics ;  between 
the  worship  of  the  gods  and  tiie  ceremonies  which  only 
symbolize  the  respect  due  to  the  Kmperors,  and  which 
are  purely  civil  acts.     This  gave  rise  to  the  accusations 


228  A    TO  UR  IN  BO  Til  HEMISPHERES. 

brought  by  the  Dominicans  against  the  Jesuits,  charg- 
ing them  with  having  adopted  superstitious  and  idolatrous 
practices ;  we  perceived  the  origin  of  the  difficulty  be- 
tween them.  But  Benedict  XIV.  definitely  settled  this 
question  by  forbidding  the  missionaries  thenceforth  to 
conform  to  Chinese  customs. 

Confucius  (Kon-Fu-Tsc  and  Kung-Fu-Dsu)  lived  about 
550  years  before  Christ.  He  was  a  mandarin  of  royal 
family,  and  a  great  teacher  of  morality.  His  religious 
opinions  are  uncertain,  but  with  great  probability  he 
admitted  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  favored  and 
propagated  the  existing  belief  in  fate  and  soothsaying, 
and  in  the  worship  of  certain  good  spirits  who  watch 
over  the  elements  and  the  various  parts  of  the  earth. 
In  the  most  impressive  manner  he  enjoined  universal 
benevolence,  justice,  virtue,  honesty,  forgiveness  of  in- 
juries, etc.  He  resigned  his  dignity  because  the  King 
would  not  follow  his  advice,  and  went  to  the  kingdom 
of  Sum,  and  became  a  teacher  of  morals.  He  did  not 
attempt  to  overthrow  existing  establishments,  hence  he 
did  not  meddle  about  religion,  but  he  left  the  people 
to  believe  what  they  were  already  believing. 

We  now  entered  the  Examination  Hall.  Here  tri- 
ennial examinations  are  held  of  candidates  for  the  Ku- 
yan,  or  second  literary  degree.  There  are  9.537  stalls, 
and  in  the  rear  of  these  stalls  are  rooms  for  about  3,000 
officials,  copyists,  police,  and  servants.  The  candidates 
are  put  in  the  stalls  with  only  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and 
all  write  essays  on  texts  from  the  classics.  One  day 
and  night  is  allowed  for  writing.  There  are  three  ses- 
sions, with  an  interval  of  three  days  between.  At  the 
time  of  this  examination  many  thousands  of  strangers 
are  in  the  city.  Large  sums  of  money  are  staked  on 
the  issue  of  the  examination.  The  main  hall  is  about 
1,380  feet  long  by  650  wide. 




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VISIT  TO  THE  BISHOP.  229 

The  principal  entrance  leads  to  a  hall,  in  which  there 
is  a  large  gate,  called  the  Gate  of  Equity,  which  leads  to 
another  hall  of  about  the  same  size.  In  this  hall  there 
is  another  large  gate,  called  Dragon  Gate,  which  leads 
to  the  main  hall,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  a  place 
called  Look-out ;  in  the  second  story  is  the  God  of 
Literature.  Still  a  little  further  there  is  the  following 
inscription  :  "  The  opening  heavens  circulate  literature.'' 
Further  up  there  is  a  hall,  where  essays  are  handed  in, 
called  Hall  of  Perfect  Honesty.  Still  further,  there  is  a 
hall  where  title-pages  of  the  essays  are  sealed  up,  and 
it  is  called  Hall  of  Restraint.  The  Hall  of  Auspicious 
Stars,  where  essays  are  examined,  is  the  last  up  in  the 
same  direction.  Side  by  side  with  these  last  three  halls 
there  are  private  rooms  of  the  Chief  and  Second  Impe- 
rial Commissioners,  of  ten  assistant  examiners,  private 
rooms  of  the  Governor ;  rooms  where  essays  are  copied 
in  red  ink ;  rooms  where  essays  are  read  and  compared  ; 
and  private  rooms  of  monitors.  Near  by  is  the  Temple 
of  the  God  of  Literature. 

Over  the  double  gate-way  there  is  a  ivatcr  clock. 
Close  by  there  is  a  Buddhist  Temple  in  which  there 
are  three  wooden  statues  of  Buddha,  in  sitting  posture, 
16  feet  high  ;  across  breast,  7  feet  6  inches  ;  seat  and 
pedestal,  8  feet  high.  This  temple  is  attended  by 
about  fifty  Bonzes.  In  Kau-in  Street  is  the  Yajnun  of 
the  Literary  Chancellor.  Examination  of  candidates  for 
Sau-tsoi,  or  first  literary  degree,  are  held  here.  These 
are  the  principal  temples  of  the  city  worth  seeing;  the 
others,  more  or  less,  are  very  much  like  these.  Canton 
has  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  temples, 
and  four  Mohammedan  mosques. 

In  the  evening,  in  company  with  Mr.  Taylor,  we  went 
to  the  bishop.  Crossing  the  river  in  a  sam[)an  man- 
aged by  two  women,  we  took  a  Chinaman  and  lanterns 


230 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


to  take  us  to  his  lordship.  The  gate  of  the  wall  was 
closed.  At  the  knocking  by  the  Chinaman,  an  officer 
opened,  and  having  explained  our  object,  and  being 
Europeans,  we  were  allowed  to  pass.  The  same  cere- 
mony occurred  at  the  other  gate.  The  good  bishop 
was  waiting  for  us.  Although  Mr.  Taylor  did  not 
understand  French,  he  was  so  much  impressed  at 
the  cordiality,  piety,  and  humility  of  that  prelate, 
that  he  remarked  to  me,  "  Truly  that  bishop  is  a 
saint !  " 

During  our  visit  to  the  Catholic  schools  the  boys 
were  saying  the  evening  prayers  in  Chinese.  Mr.  Tay- 
lor took  me  by  the  hand  and  made  me  listen  to  them. 
''  Are  these  not  the  same  prayers  that  we  heard  at  the 
Honan  Temple  by  the  Buddhist  Bonzes?"  "No,"  I 
said.  ''  These  are  Catholic  prayers,  which  the  boys  say 
in  the  evening."  "  If  these  are  not  the  same  prayers," 
he  replied,  "it  is  the  same  tam-tams'  time  and  manner 
used  by  the  Buddhist  Bonzes  ;  nobody  can  tell  the  dif- 
ference. Perhaps  the  words  may  be  different."  As  his 
lordship  and  the  two  priests  could  not  understand  En- 
glish, they  did  not  know  what  Mr.  Taylor  was  remarking. 
Mr.  Guillclmine,  whose  saintly  face  gave  ample  evi- 
dence of  the  long  and  hard  labors  performed  in  China, 
had  been  Bishop  of  Canton  for  twenty-five  years.  He 
wanted  me  to  go  to  Sanciano  Island,  which  is  under  his 
jurisdiction,  and  where  he  goes  once  a  year  with  a  large 
crowd  of  Catholics  to  venerate  the  grave  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier.  Oh,  what  would  I  not  have  given  for  this 
great  grace!  But  my  promise  to  be  in  Singapore  for 
Christmas  prevented  me. 

After  supper,  and  after  promising  to  the  good  bishop 
that  on  any  occasion  upon  which  I  might  be  in  Canton, 
I  would  stay  with  him,  and,  after  exchanging  cards, 
accompanied  by  a  missionary,  to  whom  the  gates  were 


CATHOLICITY  AND  BUDDHISM. 


231 


immediately  opened,  we  returned  to  the  place  where 
our  sampan  was  waiting. 

At  the  hotel  we  had  a  long  discussion  upon  the  ac- 
cusation that  the  Catholic  Church  had  borrowed  the 
pomposity,  robes,  lights,  and  other  ceremonies  from  the 
Buddhist  religion  ;  that  monks  were  a  Buddhist  institu- 
tion ;  that  prayers  were  said  by  Catholic  boys  after  the 
Buddhist  manner;  the  tablets  crowned  with  dragons 
and  resting  on  tortoises  round  the  sarcophagus  or  slab 
over  the  grave  of  Father  Ricci  in  Peking,  and  the  twelve 
dragons  (or  lions)  surrounding  the  two  tablets,  one  in 
Chinese  and  one  in  Latin  over  the  grave  of  Father  Pro- 
vano,  an  eminent  Italian  astronomer  and  missionary, 
who  rendered  so  many  services  to  the  emperor,  and 
who  died  near  Canton,  but  had  got  sick  on  the  sea  re- 
turning from  Italy,  where  he  had  been  sent  by  the  em- 
peror on  a  mission,  as  I  was  told  in  Canton,  was  buried 
about  two  miles  from  the  city.  The  Chinese  Govern- 
ment ordered  the  erection  of  the  above-mentioned 
monument,  put  a  watchman  to  keep  this  monument, 
and  assigned  the  revenue  of  a  rice-field  for  its  care  and 
preservation.  Formerly  it  was  given  to  the  Bonzes 
to  become  its  guardians,  but  afterward  it  was  handed 
to  the  I^'rench.  These  facts  were  brought  to  me  as  a 
proof  of  what  they  asserted.'" 

I  replied  that  to  suppose  that  the  Catholic  Church 
had  borrowed  the  pomposity,  robes,  lights,  and  other 
ceremonies  from  the  Buddhist  religion,  betrayed  igno- 
rance of  Asiatic  history.  Far  from  thinking  that  the 
Catholic  Church  has  borrcnvcd  these  things  from  the 
Buddhist  religion,  it  was  the  Buddhists  who  took  these 
rites  from  the  Jewish  ritual.  Although,  according  to 
Abel    Remusat,    Ikiddha,   whose    historical    name   was 


*  Archdeacon  Grey.     Work  on  Canton. 


232  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Tsha-kia-muni,  was  born  in  1029  B.C.  His  Philosophy, 
or  religion,  which  is  nothing  else  but  a  metaphysical, 
allegorical  mysticism,  can  not  be  fixed  before  the  year 
332  B.C.,  under  the  reign  of  Hian-wang;  that  is,  618 
years  after  the  death  of  Tsha-kia-muni. 

It  is  true  that  before  his  death,  Buddha  (Tsha-kia- 
muni)  entrusted  his  disciple,  Mahakaya,  a  Brahmin, 
with  his  mysteries,  the  first  saint  or  patriarch  of  Buddh- 
ism, w^hich  secrets  were  bequeathed  by  him  to  his  suc- 
cessor, Ananta.  The  Buddhists  count  thirt}'-three 
patriarchs,  including  Mahakaya,  in  chronological  suc- 
cession, each  of  whom  chose  his  successor,  and  trans- 
mitted to  him  the  secret  doctrine  of  Tsha-kia-muni,  who 
was  afterward  worshiped  as  a  god,  under  the  name 
of  Buddha.  Several  of  them  died,  or,  as  they  call  it, 
emigrated  voluntarily  into  the  flames.  Among  them, 
Maming  (in  Chinese,  P/m-sa,  and  in  Sanscrit,  Dcva- 
Bodhisattm),  the  successor  of  Buddha,  who  gave  names 
to  the  gods  of  the  second-class,  was  worshiped  as  his 
son,  born  from  his  mouth,  because  he  perfected  the 
doctrine  of  Buddha.  All  this  did  not  take  place  in 
China,  but  in  India.  Buddhism  is  not  a  Chinc^sc  nor  a 
Japanese  creation  ;  it  is  an  Indian  institution,  and 
properly  originated  in  the  kingdom  of  Makata,  which 
lay  in  the  center  of  India. 

Now,  the  Indians  were  well  acquainted  with  the  Jew- 
ish religion,  and  the  magnificence  and  splendor  which 
God  had  ordered  Moses  and  Aarcni  to  use  in  the  prac- 
tice of  religion.  Queen  Saba  had  heard  wonders  of  the 
grandeur  of  Solomon,  and  of  the  famous  temple  built 
by  him.  She  confessed  that  what  she  had  heard  in  her 
country  was  all  true. 

I  do  not  mention  that  Sesostris,  King  of  Eg\-pt,  is 
reported  to  have  invaded  India,  and  made  w^ay,  not 
merely  to,  but  even  beyond  the  Ganges;  nor  about  the 


£J?J^OI!S  ABOUT  B UDDHISM.  233 

invasion  of  India  by  Bacchus ;  but  we  know  from  He- 
rodotus, that  great  Greek  historian  of  the  fifth  century, 
B.C.,  and  justly  called  the  ''  Father  of  History,"  that 
during  the  reign  of  Cyaxares,  King  of  Persia,  the 
Scythians  overran  the  whole  of  Western  Asia.  One  of 
the  more  modern  of  the  Hindoo  sacred  books,  repre- 
sents that  India  was  invaded  by  a  TaksJiak,  or  serpent 
race,  which  overthrew  the  Magdala  kingdom.  Darius 
Hystaspcs  invaded  India,  and  annexed  part  of  it  to  the 
Persian  dominion.  Alexander  the  Great,  King  of 
Macedon,  who  is  known  in  India  as  Iskander,  or  Se- 
cunder,  havin^j  disposed  of  the  Persian  Empire,  crossed 
the  Indus  at  Attock,  and  marched  through  the  Punjaub 
early  in  the  year  327  15. C.  If  all  this  is  not  sufficient, 
the  transmigration  of  the  Jews  to  Eabylon  may  be  suf- 
ficient to  show  that  the  Indians  were  acquainted  with 
the  ritual  and  solemnity  which  was  practiced  by  the 
Jewish  nation  in  the  celebration  of  their  festivals. 
Where  is  now  the  assertion  that  the  Catholic  Church 
borrowed  the  use  of  vestments,  lights,  etc.,  from  the 
Buddhist  religion,  when  these  vestments,  lights,  etc., 
were  used  by  the  Jews  long  before  the  existence  of 
Buddhism? 

Now,  about  the  monks  being  a  Ikiddhist  institution 
is  also  another  great  error.  We  know  that  since  the  time 
of  the  prophet  Klias  there  were  contenii)lative  people 
called  prophets,  living  in  grottoes  round  Mount  Carmel. 
The  grotto  where  the  prophet  Jercmias  lived,  and  in 
which  he  wrote  the  famous  Lainnilaticnis,  is  in  siglit  of 
Jerusalem — that  unfortunate  city  -ihe  subject  of  his 
dolorous  strain.  To  tliis  ver\'  day  that  grotto  is  pointed 
out  to  pilgrims  and  visitors  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  I 
consider  myself  fortunate  in  having  seen  it.  The 
Nazarites  among  the  Jews  existed  since  the  time  of 
Moses     They  de\  c^ted  themselves  to  the  service  t)f  God 


234  ^    TOUR  IN-  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

for  a  certain  time  or  for  life.  They  made  vows,  ab- 
stained from  strong  drink,  etc. ;  therefore  they  Hved  re- 
tired to  grottoes  in  meditation.  There  was  no  existence 
of  Buddhism  at  that  time ;  in  a  word,  monastic  seclu- 
sion and  ascetic  life  existed  before  the  times  of  Buddh- 
ism. The  inclination  to  a  solitary  life  arose  with  the 
corruption  of  society.  The  better  disposed  persons, 
finding  themselves  unequal  to  resist  the  corruption  of 
the  world,  sought  in  solitude  a  protection  against 
temptation.  The  Oriental  philosophy  had  a  tendency 
to  a  contemplative  life ;  the  aspiring  to  shake  off  the 
fetters  of  the  body  and  senses,  gave  the  charm  of  a 
peculiar  sanctity  by  the  flying  from  the  world.  The 
inhabitants  of  Southern  Asia  have  an  indisposition  to 
action,  and  a  fondness  for  undisturbed  contemplation. 
The  GyvDiosophists,  or  Brachmans,  so  called  because 
they  went  naked,  made  their  philosophy  to  consist  of 
constant  meditation  and  the  severest  ascetic  habits,  by 
which  they  sought  to  overcome  sensuality,  and  to  unite 
themselves  to  God,  and  often  they  burned  themselves 
alive,  the  sooner  to  become  pure.  They  existed  before 
monks  were  instituted  in  Buddhism.  But  these,  and 
those  who  profess  the  religion  of  Brahma,  Fo,  and 
Lama,  are  full  of  fakirs,  and  santons,  tanirs,  or  songeses, 
talapoins,"  bonzes,  and  dervises,  whose  fanatical  and  ab- 


*  Talapoin,  or  falopin,  a  Siamese  priest  ;  in  China  called  St'it:^  ;  in 
Tartary,  lamas,  and  in  Europe  Boiizcs.  The  religion  of  Fo,  Foe,  or 
Fohi,  was  introduced  in  China  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian 
era.  The  I'.mperor  Min.G^-ti  XV.  of  the  Hanif  dynasty,  bethou.i^ht 
himself  of  the  words  of  Confucius,  "  In  the  west  shall  be  found  the 
holy  one,"  and  sent  two  j^randees  of  the  empire  in  that  direction  with 
orders  not  to  return  till  they  had  found  that  holy  one,  and  learned  his 
precepts.  They  returned  with  the  religion  of  Fo,  who  was  horn  frt)m 
the  right  side-  of  his  mother,  in  Cashmere,  1027  B.C.,  and  his  father 
was  the  king  of  that  country.  While  she  was  in  travail,  the  stars 
were  darkened,  and  nine  dragons  descended  from  heaven.     Imme- 


CIVIL  RITES  AND  CUSTOMS. 


!35 


surd  penances  are  rather  arts  of  deception  than  fruits  of 
piety.  From  this  kind  of  philosophy  the  Buddhists  bor- 
rowed the  pattern  in  the  institution  of  their  monks.  But 
this  is  not  the  kind  of  monks  that  exists  in  the  Catholic 
religion.  The  life  of  the  Esscncs  and  Thcrapcutes,  who 
flourished  in  Palestine  and  Egypt  about  the  time  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  entirely  founded  on  the 
idea  of  separation  from  the  world,  was  the  form  of  our 
monastic  institution,  whose  discipline  and  piety  pre- 
vailed in  the  better  period  of  Catholic  monasticism. 

With  regard  to  the  Chinese  manners  and  rites,  some 
of  which  had  been  adopted  by  Catholics,  I  remarked 
that  persons  well  acquainted  with  the  Chinese  customs, 
etiquette,  and  religion,  consider  the  honors  rendered  to 
Confucius  and  deceased  relations  as  purely  civil,  and 
not  at  all  religious ;  and  those  dragons  and  tortoises 
and  other  symbols  in  appearance  pagan,  are  by  many 
considered  to  be  purely  civil  and  political.  I  know  that 
in  China  religion  and  politics  are  so  mixed  up  together 
that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  decide  what  is  merely 
political  from  what  is  only  religious.  This  was  the 
cause  of  the  accusation  which  the  Dominican  Fathers 
brought   against   the  Jesuit   missionaries.     This   affair. 


diately  after  his  birth  she  died.  In  the  beginning  of  her  pregnancy, 
she  dreamed  that  she  had  swallowed  a  white  elephant,  which  is  the 
cause  of  the  veneration  paid  these  animals  in  India  Others  say  that 
his  mother  was  impregnated  by  a  ray  of  light.  His  doctrine  contains 
lh£  principles  of  infidelity.  "  From  nothing  all  things  have  sprung, 
and  to  nothing  all  must  return,  and  there  all  our  hopes  must  end." 
He  gave  good  precepts  of  morality.  Rut  there  is  a  great  contradic- 
tion in  his  doctrine.  The  god  Fo  was  born  to  save  mankind,  and 
bring  back  those  who  had  gone  astray  from  righteousness  ;  he  suf- 
fered for  their  sins,  and  obtained  for  them  a  blissful  resurrection  in 
the  other  world.  Now,  is  not  th;it  a  contradiction  to  what  was  as- 
serted above  ?  How,  then,  all  our  hopes  end  when  all  must  return 
into  nothing?  I  omit  the  other  nonsense  and  absurdity  of  his  doc- 
trine. 


236  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

which  was  the  cause  of  endless  disputes,  attacks,  and 
explanations,  was  stopped  by  Pope  Benedict  XIV., 
who  forbade  the  missionaries  henceforth  to  conform  to 
Chinese  customs.  It  was  a  condemnation  of  the  Jesuit 
missionaries,  who  immediately  obeyed  the  voice  of 
Rome. 

The  manner  of  saying  the  prax'ers  by  the  Catholics 
in  the  Chinese  fashion,  is  due  to  the  nature  of  the  Chi- 
nese language,  which  having  but  four  hundred  and  fifty 
distinct  monosyllabic  roots,  by  the  mode  of  speaking, 
form  from  forty  thousand  to  fifty  thousand  words. 
Thus:  Ba,  ba,  bd,  bd,  if  properly  pronounced,  is  said 
to  mean  :  "  Three  ladies  gave  a  box  on  the  ear  to  the 
favorite  of  the  Prince."  By  means  of  those  accents  the 
Chinese  speak  in  a  kind  of  cantilena,  or  recitative,  which 
is  not,  however,  much  observed  when  they  speak  fast 
in  their  ordinary  conversation.  It  requires  a  nice  ear 
to  distinguish  those  varieties  of  tone,  and  in  saying 
their  prayers  they  pronounce  words  ver}-  fast,  and  with 
that  Chinese  cantilena. 

In  conclusion,  the  god  Buddha — the  most  effective 
propagator  of  intellectual  atheism  predominant  in 
Buddhism — does  not  exist.  lie  has  attained  the  eter- 
nal happiness,  which,  according  to  Buddhists,  consists  in 
the  perfect  annihilation,  because  they  say  that  perfect 
happiness  can  not  be  found  in  existence.  As  long  as 
one  exists  there  is  always  something  which  disturbs  his 
happiness,  hence  perfect  happiness  is  found  only  in  the 
annihilation.  Buddha,  by  degrees,  became  more  and 
more  perfect  by  mortification,  meditation,  etc.,  even 
after  his  death  he  may  have  transmigrated  into  some 
more  perfect  being,  till  having  reached  the  highest  de- 
gree of  perfection,  was  annihilated. 

The  engravings  of  Buddha  in  Nepal,  Tartary,  Ceylon 
Burmah,   Siam,  China,   and    in    any   other   country  to 


BUDDHISTIC  A  THEISM. 


237 


which  Buddhism  has  been  carried  from  India,  are  rep- 
resented in  a  variety  of  postures — standing,  sitting,  or 
squatting — sometimes  with  feet  drawn  up  and  the  knees 
protruded  ;  sometimes  with  one  foot  up  and  another 
down  ;  and  sometimes  \\\\\\  both  feet  on  the  ground, 
and  as  though  receiving  worship  and  enthronization, 
as  dispensing  blessings,  or  as  engaged  in  contempla- 
tion. They  are  almost  uniformly  destitute  of  such 
monstrosities  as  a  plurality  of  heads,  arms,  legs,  etc.,  as 
are  seen  in  Brahminical  images.  Abstraction  seems 
to  be  their  general  characteristic;  and  the  expression 
indicates  little  life,  genius,  or  reflection.  According  to 
the  Buddhist  conception  of  beauty,  many  of  them  have 
curled  hair  and  pendant  lips,  as  of  an  African  type. 

Buddhism  is  an  infidel  religion,  the  existence  of  Provi- 
dence is  denied,  and  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the 
existence  of  God  is  admitted.  I  was  assured  by  the 
Bishop  of  Canton  that  the  Buddhists  find  the  Catholic 
religion  by  far  more  reasonable  than  Buddhism  ;  they 
do  not  feel  satisfied  that  their  end  should  be  a  perfect 
annihilation  ;  yet  the  conversion  to  the  Catholic  relig- 
ion is  the  work  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  not  of  persua- 
sion. The  Vicar  of  the  Bishop  of  Hong-Kong  said  to  me : 
''  The  Chinese  say, '  We  like  your  religion,  it  is  good,  it  is 
holy,  it  is  so ;  but  it  is  good  for  you,  but  for  us  it  is  not. 
Keep  you  your  religion,  and  we  keep  ours.'  It  is  just 
what  our  Saviour  said,  '  No  one  can  come  to  me  unless 
the  Father  draw  him.'  "  The  Chinese  are  very  super- 
stitious, but  they  are  not  fanatics  in  inatters  of  religion; 
nay,  in  both  learned  and  unlearned,  even  amongst  the 
Chinese  Buddhist  clergy  themselves,  fanaticism  in  relig- 
ion is  unknown.  The}-  believe  that  every  one  may  save 
his  soul  in  his  own  wa\'.  It  is  quite  the  reverse  with  the 
Mongols,  and  the  nearer  one  gets  to  Thibet  the  more 
the  intolerance  in  matters   of  reli^jion  increases.     The 


238  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

exception  made  for  the  Christians  in  China  comes  from 
poHtical  motives,  and  not  on  account  of  their  rehgion. 

Canton  is  the  principal  city  of  the  Chinese  province 
of  the  same  name,  otherwise  called  Quang-tong,  or  Koan- 
ton,  and  next  only  to  Peking  in  China  proper.  The  popu- 
lation is  about  1,250,000,  including  the  boat  population 
of  about  250,000;  and  the  city  is  nine  miles  in  circum- 
ference. The  walls,  which  are  high  above  the  city,  have 
a  promenade  on  the  summit  behind  the  embrasures. 
The  streets,  6  to  12  feet  wide,  are  densely  thronged 
with  artisans  of  all  trades,  and  are  paved  with  granite 
slabs.  The  houses  are  one  story  high,  the  shops  with 
gaudy  sign -boards,  and  the  population  naked  to  the 
waist.  The  streets  have  gates,  which  are  closed  after 
dark.  During  the  night  policemen  pace  to  and  fro ; 
every  minute  or  two  they  give  three  strokes  to  a  bam- 
boo or  drum,  and  two  strokes  to  a  small  silver  gong. 
It  is  said  with  truth,  that  he  who  has  not  visited  Can- 
ton, has  not  seen  China.  Canton  represents  China.  Pc. 
king  represents  Mongolia. 

The  costume  of  both  male  and  female  among  the 
lower  order  consists  of  wide  trowsers  and  large  gar- 
ments generally  made  of  blue  calico.  The  heads  of  the 
men  are  shaven,  with  the  exception  of  the  back,  the 
hair  of  which  is  allowed  to  grow,  and  is  then  plaited 
into  a  queue,  which  is  twisted  around  the  neck  when  they 
are  at  work,  but  when  the  owner  enters  a  room  it  is  let 
down  again.  It  is  against  etiquette  and  politeness  for 
a  person  to  appear  with  his  queue  twisted.  Females,  on 
the  contrary,  comb  their  hair  entirely  back  of  their  fore- 
head, and  fasten  it  in  most  artistic  plaits  about  the 
head.  Men  sometimes  wear  bamboo  hats,  which  are 
very  durable,  and  keep  off  both  sun  and  rain.  Common 
people  generally  go  barefooted,  but  the  better  class  use 
sewed  stockings,  and  shoes  made  of  black  silk,  the  soles 


PHYSIQUE  OF  THE  CHINESE. 


239 


of  which  are  composed  of  layers  of  strong  pasteboard 
or  felt,  pasted  together,  and  more  than  one  inch  thick. 
Young  people  wear  neither  beard  nor  moustache,  which 


CHINICSE    VISITING. 


240  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

is  a  privilege  only  for  those  who  are  grandfathers.  A 
Chinese  woman  is  proud  of  her  beauty  in  proportion  to 
the  smallness  of  her  eyes,  the  protuberance  of  her  lips, 
the  lankness  and  blackness  of  her  hair,  and  the  small- 
ness of  her  feet.  The  manner  in  which  they  deform 
their  feet  is  as  follows  :  Four  of  the  toes  are  bent  under 
the  sole  of  the  foot,  to  which  they  are  firmly  pressed, 
and  to  which  they  grow  ;  the  great  toe  is  left  in  its 
natural  state.  The  fore  part  of  the  foot  is  compressed 
with  strong  bandages,  so  that  it  shoots  upward,  and 
appears  like  a  large  lump  at  the  instep,  where  it  forms, 
as  it  were,  part  of  the  leg.  The  lower  part  of  the  foot 
is  scarcely  more  than  four  inches  long  and  one  and  a 
half  inches  broad.  The  value  of  a  bride  is  determined 
by  the  smallness  of  her  foot. 

The  Chinese  are  of  middle  stature ;  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  rich  people  and  ladies,  who  are  white,  their 
color  is  sun-burnt.  Their  faces  are  flat,  broad,  and 
ugly  ;  their  mouths  large,  their  fingers  long  and  thin  ; 
the  nails  of  the  aristocrats  are  allowed  to  grow  about 
one  or  two  inches.  The  features  and  shape  of  the 
skull  prove  their  descent  from  the  Mongols.  \\y  the 
men,  corpulence,  as  the  sign  of  an  easy  life,  is  regarded 
with  respect.  Lean  people  are  considered  void  of  tal- 
ent. The  Chinese  are  industrious,  drink  no  strong  bev- 
erage, and  are  a  commercial  peoi)le.  The  (iovcrnment 
is  an  absolute  monarchy,  but  the  mandarins  and  tribu- 
nals are  permitted  to  make  respectful  remonstrances  to 
the  I'Lmperor,  who  calls  himself  ^'Iloly  son  of  Ilcavcu, 
sole  j^nardian  of  the  earth,  father  of  the  peoph'!'  lie 
has  three  wives,  but  only  one  has  the  rank  of  Empress. 
He  generally  resides  in  I'eking,  and  never  appears  in 
public  without  two  hundred  lictors,  bearing  chains,  axes, 
and  other  instruments  characteristic  of  Eastern  despot, 
ism.     His  person  is  worshiped  ;  his  subjects  prostrate 


CHINESE  HISTORY. 


241 


themselves  in  his  presence ;  offerings  are  made  to  his 
image  and  to  his  throne. 

The  high  state  of  agriculture  that  exists  in  China  is 
due  to  the  honors  conferred  on  it  by  the  Government. 
Ever)'  year,  on  the  15th  day  of  the  first  moon,  the  Em- 
peror repairs,  in  great  state,  to  a  certain  field,  accom- 
panied by  the  princes  and  principal  officers,  prostrates 
himself,  and  touches  the  ground  nine  times  with  his 
head,  in  honor  of  Tien,  the  God  of  Heaven.  He  pro- 
nounces a  prayer,  and,  as  High-Priest,  sacrifices  on  the 
altar  a  bullock  to  heaven.  Then  he  throws  aside  his 
imperial  robes,  lays  hold  of  the  handle  of  a  plow,  drawn 
by  a  pair  of  oxen  tricked  out  with  ornaments,  and 
opens  several  furrows.  The  principal  mandarins  do 
the  same.  The  festival  is  concluded  with  the  distri- 
bution of  money  and  cloth  amongst  the  peasantry.  In 
the  same  manner  the  Emperor  again  comes  to  sow  the 
seed.  In  the  provinces  the  viceroys  perform  a  similar 
ceremony  on  the  same  day. 

China,  called  by  the  natives  TcJiou-Konc,  "  center  of 
the  earth,"  is  one-third  of  the  whole  continent  of  Asia. 
East  and  west  it  comprises  all  the  countries  from  the 
sea  of  Okhotsk  to  Kokhan  and  Badakshan,  about  3,350 
miles;  and  north  and  south  from  Tonquin  to  Asiatic 
Russia,  a  distance  of  about  2,100.  The  population  of 
China  proper  is  estimated  to  be  414,000,000.  Others, 
with  more  truth,  estimate  the  population  so  as  not  to 
exceed  200,000,000.  The  country  is  diversified,  fiat, 
fertile,  and  intersected  by  numerous  large  rivers,  canals, 
and  several  chains  of  granite  mountains.  The  climate 
in  the  south  is  very  hot,  but  in  the  north  they  have  an 
I'^uropcan  winter.  The  (inaf  Wall  o\\  the  north  border, 
built  about  300  P-.r.,  stretches  up  high  mountains  and 
deep  \-allc:ys  for  1, 200  miles;  it  is  15  to  30  feet  high, 
and  about  12  feet  wide,  and  by  means  of  arches  spans 


242 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


wide  rivers.     At  distances  of  about  200  paces  are  dis- 
tributed square  towers,  or  strong  bulwarks.     The  foun- 


CHINESE  TOWERS. 


dations  and   corners  are  of  granite,  but  the  principal 
portion  is  of  blue  bricks,  cemented  with  pure  white  mor- 


CHINESE  HISTORY. 


24: 


tar,  but  now  it  is  in  a  state  of  decay,  as  is  also  the 
Grand  Canal  from  Canton  to  Peking,  1,400  miles.  To 
construct  the  wall  it  took  thirty  thousand  men  forty- 
three  years.  It  was  commenced  in  the  thirteenth  cent- 
ury. According  to  the  Chinese  notions,  China  was 
governed  for  many  millions  of  years  by  the  gods  Tien- 
Hoan-Chi,  and  the  fabulous  families  of  kings,  Ti-Hoan- 
Chi  and  Kiehu-Tohu-Ki.  The  authentic  history  of  China 
appears  to  begin  with  the  great  dynasty  of  Han,  about 
200  B.C.  That  China  is  a  very  ancient  nation  nobody 
can  deny,  and  it  is  equally  true  that  many  of  our  most 
useful  inventions  are  to  be  found  among  that  people. 
They  printed  books  before  the  art  was  invented  in 
Europe,  with  characters  carved  in  wooden  tablets,  which 
is  still  their  present  practice.  They  used  the  magnet 
before  it  was  known  to  us.  Yet  architecture  has  been 
too  much  exaggerated,  and  the  pretended  wisdom  of  the 
Chinese  laws  may  be  reduced  to  good  police  regula- 
tions, accompanied  with  good  lessons  in  morality. 


TtMi'LE,  WITH  Tombs  ok  the  Mikados,  at  Kamakura. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

MACAO — DEPARTURE  FOR  COCHIN-CHINA — CAMBODIA    RIVER — SAIGON — 
SIAM — SINGAPORE  AGAIN. 

At  eight  A.M.  on  a  fine  Saturday,  I  embarked  on^the 
Portuguese  steamer  Sparky  commanded  by  a  Bostonian. 
This  is  that  famous  American  steamer  which  several 
years  ago,  on  a  trip  from  Canton  to  Macao,  was  taken 
by  Malay  pirates,  who  killed  the  captain  (an  American), 
several  officers,  and  the  engineer,  wounded  some  sailors, 
plundered  all  the  passengers,  robbed  the  boat  of  all  its 
valuables,  and,  having  driven  it  on  shore,  left  it.  The 
steamer  was  recovered  and  repaired,  but  nobody  knew 
what  became  of  the  pirates.  She  was  armed  and 
guarded,  and  the  Chinese  were  kept  in  custody  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  the  Kin-sJian  steamer.  I  asked  one 
of  the  watchmen,  who,  armed  to  the  teeth,  held  a  foot 
on  the  iron  grate,  what  he  was  doing.  He  replied, 
"  Estes  estao  picaros  e  ladraos  ;  devemos  guardar-os:  " 
(These  are  rascals  and  thieves;  they  must  be  watched). 
The  steward  approached  me  and  vciy  politely  asked, 
"  Esta,  V.  M.  hum  padre?"  (Is  your  grace  a  priest?) 
"Sim,  senhor."  (Yes,  sir).  He  informed  me  that 
clergymen  paid  only  half  fare.  Formerly,  they  were 
permitted  to  go  free,  and  had  their  dinner  besides;  but 
as  Protestant  ministers  traveled  very  often  for  amuse- 
ment, taking  their  wives,  children,  and  not  seldom  their 
relations,  or  what  they  passed  for  their  relations,  the 
company  found  that  it  was  an  expensive  compliment, 
and  was  obliged  to  alter  and  limit  this  favor.  He  re- 
(244) 


m 


'3. 


i^m:- 

.  1  ;>fi 


ST.  FRANCIS  XA  VIER'S  GRA  VE. 


245 


latcd  to  me  that  in  two  months  he,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  people,  the  Bishop  of  Canton  and  other  mission- 
aries, were  to  go  to  Sancian  (Chang-Tchouen-Chan),  an 
island  on  the  Gulf  of  Canton  inhabited  by  fishermen, 
to  visit  the  grave  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  who  fell  sick 
there,  and  after  a  long  and  painful  illness,  died  on  the  sec- 
ond of  December,  1552,  and  was  buried  on  the  shore,  with- 
out having  had  the  satisfaction  of  entering  China.  Al- 
though a  short  time  after  his  remains  were  transported  to 
India,  and  deposited  in  St.  Paul's  Church  at  Goa,  yet 
the  faithful,  and  many  Protestants  and  heathens  too, 
every  }-car  resort  to  Sancian  to  pray  on  the  grave  of 
this  illustrious  apostle  of  the  Indies,  and  those  suffering 
from  sickness  or  disease,  rub  themselves  with  the  grass 
growing  on  the  grave,  and  become  cured.  The  steward 
said  that  he  had  had  a  bad  leg.  No  doctor  had  been 
able  to  do  anything  to  cure  it,  notwithstanding  the 
many  remedies  applied  to  it ;  he  went  to  the  grave  of 
St.  Francis  Xavier,  rubbed  the  leg  with  the  grass  grow- 
ing on  the  grave,  and  became  entirely  healed. 

In  approaching  Macao,  the  steward  pointed  out  to  me 
a  steamer  which  was  from  Hong-Kong  going  to  Macao, 
and  when  near  to  this  city  was  caught  in  that  terrible 
typhoon  which  two  years  ago  caused  so  great  havoc  in 
Macao  and  Canton.  The  loss  of  life  was  fearful.  Peo- 
ple perished  by  thousands,  and  the  destruction  of  prop- 
erty was  reckoned  by  millions.  The  steamer  sank  at 
once,  and  nearly  all  on  board  perished.  We  could  only 
see  the  tops  of  the  masts  springing  from  the  sea.  They 
expect  to  raise  her,  but,  so  far,  nothing  has  been  done. 
Macao  presents  a  beautiful  view  from  the  sea.  The 
three  forts,  built  upon  eminences,  and  well  planted 
with  artillery,  make  an  imposing  show  of  her  past 
strength  and  importance.  The  cascrna  and  the  espla- 
nade  in  front  of  it,  and   facing  the  ocean,  produce  a  fa- 


246  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

vorable  impression  of  the  city.  The  noble  flag  floating 
from  the  fort  reminded  one  of  Portugal.  The  Spark 
doubled  Port-da-Barra,  and  we  soon  landed  at  Macao. 
As  the  only  hotel  had  failed  and  closed  two  months 
ago,  I  went  to  San  Jose  College,  to  solicit  the  hospi- 
tality of  the  good  Portuguese  Fathers,  who  received 
me  with  open  arms  and  open  hearts. 

Padre  Antao  Joaquim  de  Metcros  was  the  president 
of  this  college.  He  was  convalescent  from  a  fever 
which  he  had  contracted  in  the  island  of  Timor — one 
of  the  Molucca  Islands,  where  his  zeal  had  carried  him 
to  revive  the  Catholic  religion,  centuries  ago  planted  by 
Portuguese  missionaries,  encouraged  by  the  Govern- 
ment and  money  of  Portugal.  After  several  months  of 
hard  labor,  during  which  he  suffered  from  illness,  he 
was  obliged  to  repair  to  Macao,  but  with  the  intention 
of  returning  after  the  restoration  of  his  shattered  health. 
On  leaving  the  island,  he  took  with  him  several  native 
boys  to  educate  in  Macao  for  the  priesthood.  He  had 
prepared  to  return  to  his  mission  soon  after  the  arrival 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Macao  from  Europe,  who  was 
expected  every  week. 

One  of  the  professors  of  that  college  was  the  saintly 
and  learned  Father  M.  Antonini,  D.D.,  a  Roman  by 
birth,  who,  with  other  missionaries,  had  in  vain  worked 
in  New  Guinea  for  the  conversion  of  those  Papuas,  and 
when  that  mission  was  given  up,  repaired  first  to  Syd- 
ney, but  being  requested  to  go  to  China  to  teach 
theology,  he  went  to  Hong-Kong,  and  afterward  to 
Macao.  He  was  so  kind  as  to  be  my  guide  through 
the  city. 

In  the  evening  at  supper,  one  of  the  Fathers,  whom 
I  had  not  seen  in  Macao,  came  and  took  his  seat  close 
to  me  at  my  left  side.  I  noticed  that  he  had  done  it 
intentionally.     He  asked  me  several  curious  questions, 


AN  OLD  FRIEND. 


247 


but  was  very  particular  not  to  turn  his  face  toward  me, 
except  now  and  then,  and  only  with  a  wink,  which  was 
observed,  and  even  enjoyed,  by  the  others.  He  asked 
me  plainly,  "Have  you  ever  been  in  Jerusalem?" 
This  question  aroused  me.  I  looked  at  him  atten- 
tively, and  said,  "  You  are  Padre  De  Govea,  whom  ten 
years  ago  I  met  at  Jerusalem  !  "  Here  we  fell  into  each 
other's  arms.  Oh,  what  consolation  we  experienced  in 
this  meeting !  We  never  expected  to  again  see  each 
other  in  this  world.  He  was  much  pleased  at  the  op- 
portunity afforded  him  of  my  being  his  guest,  because 
he  was  the  Vicar-General  of  Macao.  He  had  already 
recognized  me,  and  at  the  college  they  all  knew  of  it, 
but  awaited  to  ascertain  whether  I  would  recognize  him 
or  not. 

We  commenced  to  relate  our  experience  in  Jerusa- 
lem. Padre  Manuel  Lourengo  De  Govea  arrived  in 
Jerusalem  just  when  I  had  commenced  to  recover  from 
a  severe  sickness,  with  which  I  had  been  laid  down 
in  Palestine,  and  which  threatened  to  make  me  leave 
my  bones  by  Mount  Zion,  or  in  the  ^^  Potter  s  Ficldy 
We  spent  several  days  together  in  Jerusalem,  till  I  felt 
strong  enough  to  travel  and  quit  the  Holy  Land.  He 
related  to  mc,  that  fearing  a  like  sickness,  he  did  not 
venture  to  go  any  further  in  Palestine,  but  after  nearly 
one  month  of  stay  in  Jerusalem,  went  to  Portugal. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  in  company  of  Dr.  Antonini, 
I  visited  the  city.  We  went,  firstly,  to  the  Church  of 
St.  Lazarus,  which  is  the  first  church  built  in  ]\Licao. 
The  pastor  was  a  Chinese  priest,  who  was,  on  the  occa. 
sion  of  our  visit,  baptizing  a  Chinese  child.  The  lepers 
of  Macao  are  permitted  to  attend  Mass  in  this  church, 
but  in  a  room  apart,  from  which  they  can  see  the  priest 
and  altar.  I  remarked  that  on  the  altar-piece  there  was 
a  large  painting  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  holding  an 


248  ^    TOUR  IN  LOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

anchor,  and  also  a  large  anchor  painted  on  the  ceihng. 
The  church  was  not  large,  and  had  only  one  nave. 

We  went  to  the  English  factory,  in  the  garden  of  which 
is  shown  the  grotto  of  Camoens,  where  he  composed  the 
"  Lusiad."  O  Scnhor  Lourengo  Marquez— the  gentle- 
manly proprietor  of  the  garden  and  grotto — received  us 
with  great  kindness ;  he  sent  his  son  to  accompany  us 
and  show  everything  in  the  garden,  which  was  truly 
romantic,  and  enriched  with  tropical  trees,  plants,  and 
flowers.  Amongst  the  venerable  old  trees  and  natural 
rocks,  the  great  poet's  grotto  is  pointed  out  on  a  hill, 
from  whose  summit  the  enchanting  view  of  the  city, 
the  grandeur  of  the  sea,  and  the  solemn  silence  and 
solitude  of  the  place,  interrupted  only  by  the  rustling 
of  the  leaves  and  the  warbling  notes  of  the  birds,  must 
have  great!}'  aroused  the  prolific  imaginative  power  oi 
that  hero  of  Portuguese  literature  and  ornament  of 
Europe.  From  the  top  of  this  hill  we  could  see  very 
plainly  the  destruction  of  many  venerable  trees  in  this 
garden,  and  the  demolition  of  many  houses  in  the  city, 
caused  by  the  late  typhoon. 

Louis  de  Camoens  was  born  at  Lisbon  in  1524. 
From  despair  he  became  a  soldier,  and  in  a  battle  be- 
fore Ceuta  an  arrow  deprived  him  of  his  right  eye. 
Envy  opposed  his  claims  to  a  recompense  for  the 
wound,  and  his  talents  were  not  appreciated.  Full  of 
indignation  at  seeing  himself  neglected,  he  embarked, 
in  1553,  for  India,  and  landed  at  Goa.  Witnessing  the 
abuses  of  the  Government  in  Lidia,  he  was  so  displeased 
that  he  wrote  a  satire,  which  caused  his  banishment  to 
Macao.  Here  he  lived  several  years  in  no  other  society 
than  that  of  nature.  Here  he  composed  the  ^'Liisiad'' 
whose  subject  was  Vasco  da  Gama's  expedition  to 
India,  and  in  conformity  to  the  taste  of  the  time,  in 
this  poem  he  united  a  narrative  of  the  Portuguese  his- 


GROTTO    DI   I.UIS   CAMOENS,  IN  MACAO. 


LOUIS  DE  CAMOENS. 


249 


tory  with  the  splendor  of  poetic  description,  and  Chris- 
tianity with  mythological  fables,  tracing  the  descent  of 
the  Portuguese  from  the  Romans,  and  considered  Mars 
and  Venus  the  progenitors  and  protectors.  As  Bac- 
chus had  been  represented  by  fables  to  have  conquered 
India,  it  was  natural  to  Camoens  to  represent  him  as 
jealous  of  the  undertaking  of  the  Portuguese.  Patriotic 
feeling  pervades  the  entire  poem,  and  the  national 
glory  of  Portugal  appears  in  every  form.  The  versifi- 
cation of  the  ^'Lusiad"  possesses  something  so  charm- 
ing, that  not  only  cultivated  minds,  but  even  the  com- 
mon people  arc  enraptured  by  its  magic,  and  learn  by 
heart  and  sing  its  beautiful  stanzas. 

Camoens  was  at  last  recalled  from  his  banishment. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  river  Mecon,  in  Cochin-China,  he 
was  shipwrecked,  and  saved  himself  by  swimming ; 
holding  in  one  hand,  above  the  water,  the  manuscript 
of  his  poem — the  only  thing  saved  from  the  waves.  In 
Goa  he  was  confined  in  prison  for  debt,  and  was  not 
allowed  to  embark  for  Lisbon  until  his  friends  became 
security  for  him.  So  great  was  his  povert)-,  that,  at 
night,  a  slave  he  brought  with  him  from  India,  begged 
in  the  streets  in  order  to  support  the  life  of  his  master. 
In  this  misery  he  wrote  lyric  poems,  some  of  which 
contain  the  most  moving  complaints.  At  last,  in 
1579,  he  died  in  the  hospital  at  Lisbon,  in  the  eighty- 
second  year  of  his  age. 

O  Senhor  Lourengo  Marquez  regaled  us  with  port 
wine  and  sweetmeats.  He  also  requested  us  to  sign 
our  names  and  country  in  the  book  of  visitors,  where  I 
found  the  names  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  other  dis- 
tinguished travelers.  There  I  had  the  pleasure  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  Francisco  Pedro  Goncalvcs,  Mis- 
sionario  do  real  Padroado  Portiii^iwz. 

We  visited  the  ren"".ains  of  the  magnificent  cathedral 
II* 


250  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  IIEMI SPHERES. 

of  St.  Paul,  built  by  the  Jesuits  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  entirely  destroyed  by  fire  some  years  ago, 
except  the  fagade,  which  is  truly  very  fine.  Four  or  five 
statues,  nearly  of  life-size,  said  to  be  solid  bronze,  re- 
main yet  in  their  niches.  They  represent  St.  Ignatius 
and  other  saints  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  On  this  fa- 
cade there  are  several  monoliths  of  granite,  and  other 
ornaments  in  alto  and  basso-relievo ;  amongst  which  I 
noticed,  in  particular,  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  on  the 
top  of  the  mast  of  a  ship.  A  flight  of  many  granite 
steps,  of  the  full  length  of  the  fagade,  rendered  the  as- 
cent to  the  church  very  toilsome.  In  the  basement  was 
the  grave-yard.  The  coffins  were  deposited  in  tiers 
round  the  walls,  just  as  in  the  Catacombs,  and  closed 
over  by  masonry.  Several  coffins  were  open,  and  the 
bones  scattered  about.  I  noticed  the  grave  of  Mon- 
signore  Mclchior  Carneiro,  first  Bishop  of  Macao  ;  the 
grave  of  the  first  and  other  Bishops  of  Japan.  These 
prelates  were  buried  in  graves  covered  by  marble  slabs, 
some  of  which  were  broken. 

Macao  at  present  has  no  importance.  The  only  trade 
which  was  left,  that  of  the  coolie  slave  trade,  has  now 
been  abolished ;  and  it  was  a  mystery  to  me  how  those 
30,000  inhabitants,  many  of  them  Chinese,  can  live. 
The  houses  are  of  stone,  but  low,  and  make  but  little 
show;  the  streets  crooked  and  narrow,  just  as  in  old 
European  cities,  except  the  esplanade,  which  gives 
some  idea  of  Cliiaja  in  Naples.  The  town  is  built  on  a 
peninsula  of  about  106  square  miles.  It  has  a  Portu- 
guese governor  and  a  Chinese  mandarin.  This  city 
was  occupied  by  the  Portuguese  in  consideration  of 
having  assisted  the  Chinese  to  destroy  the  pirates  who 
infested  this  coast,  and  for  giving  an  annual  payment  to 
the  Chinese  Government.    Yet  the  Chinese  Government 


NO  GOLD   WANTED. 


251 


would  never  recognize  the  occupation  by  the  Portu- 
guese of  the  Macao  peninsula. 

I  received  several  invitations  by  Portuguese  families. 
The  president  of  the  college  presented  to  me  the  boys 
from  Timor,  who  were  studying  for  the  priesthood. 
They  are  a  fine-looking  youth.  I  gave  to  them  some 
copies  of  my  Indian  almanac,  which  pleased  them  very 
much,  and  spent  a  long  time  in  interpreting  it. 

I  returned  to  Hong-Kong.  In  company  of  a  numbei 
of  Italian  gentlemen,  I  embarked  for  Cochin-China  on 
the  fine  French  steamer,  the  Djiini7iaJi,  Captain  San- 
Benoit  (called  Penoit).  Some  of  the  passengers  were 
quite  indignant  with  the  agent  of  the  French  line  of 
steamers,  who  had  refused  to  take  gold  in  payment  of 
the  passage.  He  absolutely  wanted  silver,  and  in  such 
coins  as  are  received  in  Hong-Kong.  They  were 
obliged  to  sell  gold-money  at  a  discount,  and  purchase 
silver  at  a  premium.  I  was  also  in  the  same  predica- 
ment. A  Venetian  doctor  exclaimed  to  me,  "  Ma  voi, 
buzzaroni  ■-'•■  di  Francesi,  come  e  che  ricusate  it  vostro 
proprio  danaro?  Vi  oftro  Napolconi,  e  non  li  volete 
ricevere  !  Per  .  .  .  .  cc  !  "  (You  worthless  Frenchmen, 
how  is  it  that  you  refuse  your  own  money  ?  I  offer 
Napoleons  to  you,  and  you  refuse  them  !     By  • — !) 

The  French  consul  at  Canton  was  in  this  ship,  and 
was  returning  to  France.  He  related  to  me  that  dur- 
ing the  eight  years  of  his  consulate,  he  had  rendered 
many  services  to  the  Catholic  religion  in  China.  "  But," 
he  added,  "  Rome  should  yield  a  little.  I  could  have 
done  more,  but  Rome  is  stiff.  Many  Chinese  things 
are  not,  and  can  not  be,  understood  there.  On  my  way 
to  1^'rance  I  will  pass  through   Italy,  and  visit  Rome  to 

*  Duzzayoni  is  not  Il;ili;iii,  bul  only  :i  ilialcct.  It  is  a  word  express- 
inj^  ccjiitempt  and  indignation. 


252 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


have  some  discussions  and  arrangement  with  the  Pope, 
with  regard  to  Chinese  ceremonies,  practices,  bows,  in- 
cHnations,  etc.,  to  Confucius.  These  are  only  national 
acts  of  respect,  and  not  of  religion.  As  long  as  things 
remain  in  this  way  in  China,  there  will  never  be  a  Cath- 
olic mandarin.  These  acts  are  performed  to  the  Pope, 
and  even  to  some  bishops,  and  who  ever  dreams  to  say 
that  wc  hold  them  as  gods?  " 

We  passed  close  to  the  eastern  shore  of  Hainan,  a 
rich  and  large,  but  sickly  island  in  the  Gulf*of  Tonquin, 
which  is  famous  for  being  particularly  exposed  to  the 
ravages  of  the  typhoons.  The  sandy  banks  on  the  coast 
of  Cochin-China  were  invisible,  but  not  so  with  the  lofty 
chain  of  mountains  of  the  north-west.  It  is  here  that 
the  true  cinnamon  is  found.  The  forests  are  well  stocked 
with  valuable  timber  for  building  and  furniture.  There 
are  fine  fruits,  and  the  oranges  are  exquisite  ;  we  had 
them  very  often  at  the  table.  The  climate  is  considered 
healthy,  and  neither  hot  nor  cold.  The  character  of  the 
natives  is  mild  and  active.  They  arc  small-sized,  but 
very  industrious.  They  arc  not  allowed  to  cat  animal 
food,  nor  even  milk,  which  they  hold  in  abhorrence,  con- 
sidering it  as  blood.  Having  passed  the  shores  of  Si- 
ampa  (or  Tsiampa,  or  Champa),  the  DjiniuiaJi  steered 
toward  the  mouth  of  the  Cambodia  River,  which  rises 
in  Thibet,  passes  through  Yunnan,  a  province  of  China, 
the  countries  of  Laos  and  Cambodia,  and  runs  into  the 
Chinese  Sea;  the  river  at  its  mouth  is  two  miles  ^\■ide, 
and  is  navigable  for  the  largest  vessels  for  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles.  It  takes  different  names  in  different 
parts  of  its  course.  The  steamer  signaled  for  a  pilot, 
with  whom  came  a  French  officer  desirous  of  recruiting 
his  health  lost  in  the  P'rench  possessions  of  Cambodia. 
We  went  up  the  river,  and  at  five  in  the  afternoon  were 
on  the  wharf  of  Saigon,  the  small  capital  of  the  I'rench 


A  NEW  KIND  OF  ALTAR-BREAD.  253 

possessions  in  Cochin-China,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cam 
bodia  River,  or  Me-Kong,  where  Ooating  docks  have  been 
constructed.  In  Cambodia,  behind  it,  are  remains  of 
the  great  city  of  Angor,  and  the  Buddhist  temple  of 
Nakhon  Wat,  dating  from  the  thirteenth  century.  The 
mouth  of  the  Me- Kong,  one  of  the  principal  rivers  in 
South  Asia,  is  about  eight  nautical  miles  broad  just  be- 
fore it  enters  the  sea.  The  fortifications  on  the  tops  of 
the  hills  render  the  view  quite  romantic  and  picturesque. 
It  being  Sunday,  I  desired  to  say  Mass.  We  were  nav- 
gating  the  Cambodia  River,  therefore  the  water  being 
perfectly  calm,  there  was  no  movement  of  the  boat  nor 
danger  of  becoming  sea-sick.  The  good  commissaire 
asked  me  to  allow  him  to  answer  Mass.  I  had  some  old 
altar-bread,  but  requested  the  commissaire  to  have  some 
fresh  altar-bread  made,  who  instantly  gave  the  order  to 
the  cook,  with  instructions  how  to  make  it.  When  it 
was  brought  to  me  I  saw  that  it  was  a  kind  of  cake 
baked  in  the  oven  upon  a  tin  pan.  It  was  of  the  size  of 
an  altar-bread,  but  very  thick.  From  the  appearance 
and  smell  of  it,  I  doubted  very  much  its  purity  and  rc- 
liabilit}-,  but  the  commissaire  assured  me  that  the  cook 
had  told  him  that  it  was  made  of  flour  onh',  and  that  it 
was  baked  in  a  pan  where  pies  were  baked.  Yet  I  did 
not  feel  satisfied  that  it  was  Diatcria  I'aluia,  and  I 
thought  it  better  also  to  consecrate  with  it  an  old  altar- 
bread.  I  prepared  the  altar  in  my  state-r«)<)m,  and  the 
commissaire  served  Mass.  .\t  the  conununion  I  found 
that  the  cook  had  made  the  altar-bread  from  the  sanu; 
dough  f)repared  for  pies,  hence  tliere  uere  butter,  sugar^ 
and  eggs  mixed  with  it,  as  the  cook  afterward  con- 
fessed. Which  of  the  two  altar-breads  had  been  conse- 
crated ?     lV)th  ?     Ncjne  ? 

I  landed  to  visit  the  town,  \\  hich   I   did  not   like.      It 
is  perfectly  Oriental.    The  lujuses  are  low  and  scattered, 


254  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  streets  dusty,  and  the  heat  unbearable.  After  sup- 
per, in  order  to  avoid  the  great  heat  and  the  swarms  of 
mosquitoes  on  board,  I  landed,  intending  to  take  some 
fresh  air  in  town  along  the  riv^er,  but  in  going  out  of  the 
steamboat  company's  grounds  I  asked  the  officer  that 
was  at  the  gate  of  the  inclosure,  whether  there  was  any 
danger  to  walk  out  in  that  hour  of  the  night.  He  re- 
plied that  it  was  not  safe,  but  I  could  walk  inside  of  the 
inclosure  without  fear  of  anything.  So  I  followed  the 
advice  of  this  watchman,  and  commenced  to  walk  along 
the  river,  inside  the  inclosure. 

On  the  wharf  there  was  a  number  of  natives  dancing 
the  native  round  dance.  This  dance  consisted  of  about 
eight  or  ten  men  holding  each  other  by  the  hand  and 
forming  a  circle,  but  in  such  a  manner  that  the  right 
hand  of  one  holds  the  right  hand  of  the  next,  and  his 
left  hand  holds  the  left  hand  of  the  next  on  the  other 
.  side;  in  this  manner  one  had  his  face  turned  in  the  in- 
side of  the  circle,  the  next  had  his  face  toward  the  out- 
side of  the  circle,  and  so  on.  The  next  step  is  by 
changing  position,  that  is,  those  who  were  turned  with 
their  face  inside  the  circle,  take  the  opposite  position, 
turning  themselves  to  the  outside  of  the  circle,  and 
those  who  were  turned  to  the  outside  of  the  circle  take 
the  opposite  location  by  fronting  the  circle.  In  this 
manner  they  are  obliged  at  each  step  to  change  hand, 
position,  and  location;  thus  they  go  round,  singing  and 
keeping  time  to  the  tune. 

The  commissaire  of  the  steamboat  and  m\-self  had 
received  an  invitation  to  visit  the  mission  house  and 
Sisterhood  of  Saigon.  A  missionary  came  on  board 
early  in  the  morning,  and  we  went  in  a  carriage  to  the 
mission  house.  I  said  Mass,  and  we  toolc  breakfast 
there.  After  visiting  the  schools,  we  were  much  pleased 
with  the  needle-work  and  embroideries  of  the  children, 


CO  CHIN-  CHINA .  255 

besides  the  school  classes,  in  the  study  of  which  they 
svere  well  posted.  In  tlieir  grounds  and  }-ards  we 
observed  some  very  peculiar  trees,  which  at  that  time 
were  in  bloom.  In  some  manner  they  looked  like 
horsechestnut-trces,  but  richer  in  color  and  more  fra- 
grant, and  the  trees  were  larger.  The  name  of  these 
trees  is  Coh'illta  Rosscinosd ;  the\'  are  native  of  Madagas- 
car. We  drove  round  Saigon,  but  there  was  nothing 
particular  to  note  ;  the  houses  are  of  stone,  low,  and 
built  in  the  old  Eastern  st\'le,  except  the  Government 
buildings.  The  streets  are  long,  wide,  and  dusty,  but 
shaded  by  trees.  The  empire  of  Cochin-China,  which 
includes  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Cambodia  (or  Kam- 
boja),  Cochin-China  proper  and  Tonquin — ^the  last  two 
are  called  by  the  natives  by  the  common  appellation, 
A)inai)i — is  attended  by  the  French  Foreign  Missions. 
It  is  divided  into  eight  V'icariate-Apostolics,  which  in- 
clude Tonquin,  but  not  Siam,  which  forms  a  Vicariate- 
ApostoHc  apart.  The  population  of  the  entire  Annam 
does  not  exceed  6, coo, 000  inhabitants.  The  climate, 
although  considered  healthy  and  temperate,  in  Saigon  is 
unhealthy  and  very  hot.  The  interior  of  the  forests  is 
not  much  inhabited  on  account  of  the  poisonous  ser- 
pents and  ferocious  animals,  which  arc  \-ery  numerous. 
The  royal  tiger,  famous  for  its  ferocity,  is  found 
here. 

At  I  P.M.  we  sailed  for  Singapore.  The  Cambodia 
Ri\"er  (or  Mc-Kong)  is  of  dangerous  naxigation,  on 
account  of  tlie  strong,  irregular  currents  and  quicksand 
whicli  cause  banks  to  grow  and  locah'ties  to  change  nearly 
every  day.  Nearly  all  the  Chinese  and  Indian  rivers 
are  so  circumstanced.  In  going  up  to  Saigon  we 
saw  a  large  x-essel  just  near  to  us  descending  the  river, 
and  in  less  than  one  minute  she  was  turned  1)\'  the  cur- 
rent with  great  violence  and  cast  on  shore.     The  same 


256  A    TO UJ^  ly  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

was  yet  on  shore,  and  notwithstanding  all  the  assistance 
given,  she  was  fast  aground.  We  passed  three  other 
vessels  that  were  aground,  one  being  French,  who  sig- 
naled us  for  assistance,  which  could  not  be  given  by 
our  steamer,  l-'inally  we  got  aground  ourselves,  yet  by 
the  quick  backing  of  our  ship  we  succeeded  in  getting 
into  deeper  water.  The  captain  was  quite  alarmed,  and 
ran  to  the  pilot,  in  whose  charge  the  steamer  ^\•as, 
and  the  passengers  were  in  great  consternation. 
The    Italian    doctor    was    near    me    and    commenced 

to  swear,  "  Sauguc  di ,  J) "   (IMood  of  G ), 

I  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder  and  told  him  not  to 
swear,  and  that  it  would  soon  all  be  right.  lie  stopped 
swearing  and  felt  very  glad  to  see  the  steamer  steering 
all  right  toward  the  Gulf  of  Siam.  I  felt  ashamed  to 
hear  an  Italian  doctor  of  good  education  and  standing 
swear;  yet  the  profanation  of  the  holy  name  of  Jesus 
b}'  the  Americans  in  swearing  is  abominably  common, 
especially  amongst  the  lower  class.  In  cf)mparing  the 
swearing  amongst  the  Italians  with  the  swearing  amongst 
the  Americans,  I   reflected  that  the   Italians,  by  sa}'ing 

'^  SangHc  di D "    (P>lood    of    i\ ),   even    in 

swearing,  make  profession  of  the  true  r)rth()dox  doc- 
trine, acknowledging  Christ  to  be  (jod,  while  the  Amer- 
icans say,  in  sv/earing.   Blood  of   C ,  and   never   of 

G ,  thus    professing  to   be   heretics,    not    believing 

Christ  to  be  God. 

Late  the  next  day  we  were  opposite  Bangkok,  the 
handsome  capital  city  of  Siam,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Menam,  the  great  river  of  Siam.  The  population  of 
Bangkok  is  estimated  not  to  exceed  50,000.  Ayuthia, 
the  old  capital,  is  the  next  considerable  city  of  the  em- 
pire, and  is  eighty  miic-s  from  the  mouth  of  the  same 
river,  which  has  become  navigable.  The  greater  propor- 
tion of  the  terjitory  is  rather  mountainous,  although  it 


SI  AM.  257 

contains  some  rich  plains.  The  population  is  thin,  which 
must  be  ascribed  to  the  barbarism  and  bad  govern- 
ment. The  country  of  the  Laos — a  people  speaking  a 
dialect  of  the  Siamese  language — appears  to  be  divided 
between  the  Siamese,  the  Chinese,  and  the  Birmans, 
with  which  latter  empires,  that  of  Siam  is  thus  brought 
into  contact.  Subsequent  to  the  civil  war  which  broke 
out  in  Cambodia  in  1809,  that  kingdom  was  divided  be- 
tween the  Siamese  and  the  Cochin-Chinese  governments. 
The  Malay  States  tributary  to  Siam  are  :  Oueda,  on  the 
western  coast  of  the  peninsula,  with  Patani,  Kalantan, 
and  Tringano  on  the  cast.  The  Siamese  are  shorter 
than  Europeans,  their  complexion  is  darker  than  that 
of  the  Chinese,  and  although  they  are  considered  to  be 
the  most  civilized  of  the  group  of  nations  inhabiting 
the  tropical  regions  beyond  the  Hindus  and  Chinese, 
}"et  they  arc  represented  by  travelers  as  servile,  rapa- 
cious, slothful,  disingenuous,  pusillanimous,  and  vain. 
Their  religion  is  Buddhism,  resembling  in  its  morality 
and  doctrine  that  which  prevails  in  Ceylon,  from  which 
country  it  was  introduced  in  Siam  in  the  seventh  cent-' 
ury.  It  differs  considerably  from  the  Buddhism  of 
Tartary,  China,  and  Japan. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

PORTUGUESE  MISSIONS  IN  SINGAPORE  AND  INDIA  IN  GENERAL — CON- 
FIRMATION BY  THE  BISHOP  OF  MACAO — CONCORDAT  WITH  PORTU- 
GAL— CHRISTMAS  AT  SINGAPORE — MALACCA — PENANG — SUMATRA — 
ACHEEN  —  NICOBAR  ISLANDS  —  MALDIVE^  ISLANDS  —  LACCADIVK 
ISLANDS. 

The  captain,  the  commissairc,  the  French  consul,  and 
nearly  all  on  board  requested  me  not  to  stop  in  Singa- 
pore, but  to  continue  my  travelin<^  with  them,  because 
they  wanted  to  hear  Mass  at  Christmas,  ruid  they 
thought  it  woful  to  be  without ;  but  I  begged  to  be 
excused  on  account  of  my  promise  to  the  Portuguese 
Padres.  Plere  they  related  the  devotion  of  the  people 
of  Europe  in  attending  Christmas  midnight  Mass. 
Amongst  other  things  the  following  was  told  :  "  On 
Christmas  eve  a  lieutenant-general  had  some  officers  of 
rank  and  a  marshal  of  France  to  dine  with  him.  Din- 
ner being  over,  some  one  asked  how  they  were  to  pass 
the  rest  of  the  evening.  One  of  the  guests  answered 
carelessly,  '  Suppose  we  go  to  midnight  Mass.'  '  So  be 
it,'  replied  the  others.  They  entered  the  church  of  St. 
Rcch.  You  may  form  an  idea  of  the  devotion  of  these 
officers,  who  went  to  church  after  a  convivial  dinner, 
merely  by  way  of  curiosity  and  pastime.  Looking 
around,  laughing  and  talking,  were  all  that  they  did. 
But  all  at  once  appears  a  little  man  wrapped  in  a  large 
cloak.  He  resolutely  approaches  the  merry  group,  and 
says  in  a  quick,  authoritative  tone, '  Gentlemen,  you  are 
acting  badly;  very  badly.  When  you  come  to  church 
you  ought  to  comport  yourselves  with  propriety.  Re- 
(258) 


CON  FIRM  A  TIOJV.  259 

spect  and  silence,  gentlemen  ! '  That  little  man  in  the 
gray  cloak  was  the  Emperor  Napoleon  himself,  who  had 
come  to  assist  at  the  midnight  Mass.  You  may  imag- 
ine the  astonishment  of  our  officers  when  they  recog- 
nized him.  During  the  remainder  of  the  divine  office 
not  one  of  them  so  much  as  turned  his  head."  These 
poor  Christians  did  through  fear  of  Napoleon  what 
they  ought  to  have  done  through  fear  of  God  and  of 
the  infant  Jesus. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  doubled  Cape  Romania,  in 
Johore  Malacca,  and  at  eight  A.M.  of  the  twenty-first  day 
of  December,  I  landed  in  Singapore  and  drove  to  the 
Portuguese  Mission's  residence,  where  the  Portuguese 
fathers  were  waiting  for  me  with  great  anxiety.  The 
room  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  Bishop  of  Macao 
just  four  days  ago,  had  now  been  prepared  for  me. 

I  found  the  two  ijood  I^ortup;uese  missionaries,  Padre 
Nicolao  Ignacio  Theophilo  Pinto  and  Padre  J.  P.  S.  de 
Cunha  very  tired,  but  in  great  good  spirits.  There  had 
not  been  Confirmation  administered  to  the  Portuguese 
population  of  Singapore  for  many  years,  and  as  the 
new  I^ishop  of  Macao  was  to  pass  by  Singapore  and 
stop  here  one  da}',  on  his  way  from  Lisbon  to  Macao, 
the  Archbishop  of  Goa  (under  whose  jurisdiction  were 
the  Portuguese  Missions  of  Singapore,  as  well  as  those 
of  India),  hud  given  permission  to  invite  the  Bishop  of 
Macao  to  give  Confirmation,  while  stopping  at  Singa- 
pr)re.  l'~or  a  long  period  of  v'cars  Macao  had  been  de- 
j)rivcd  of  a  bishop,  and  the  diocese  had  been  united  to 
that  of  (ioa  in  India;  but  tlianks  to  Pius  IX.,  who  has 
provided  a  bislu)])  for  Macao,  and  separ.itcd  its  diocese 
from  that  of  Goa.  Those  two  missionaries  had  been 
working  very  hard  to  prepare  hundreds  of  ])eople  of 
nearly  every  age,  in  order  to  be  confirmed;  besides 
other  arrangements  necessary  for  such  an  occasion.    No 


26o  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

assistance  was  given  to  them  by  the  French  mission 
arics  of  the  Vicariate-ApostoHc,  who  look  on  the  Portu- 
guese missionaries  as  schismatics,  and  I  have  been  in- 
formed that  the  French  missionaries  have  even  spoken 
from  the  pulpit,  warning  the  people  to  have  no  com- 
munication with  the  Portuguese  priests,  because  they 
were  schismatics.  This  is  nothing  else  but  a  desire  for 
jurisdiction,  as  the  Vicar-Apostolic  wants  and  claims 
jurisdiction  over  the  entire  island.  This  feeling  un- 
fortunately exists  also  in  many  parts  of  India  where 
there  are  Portuguese. 

The  Bishop  of  Macao  arrived  at  Singapore  in  the 
P'rcnch  mail-steamer,  which  stops  at  Singapore  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  Portuguese  missionaries  met  the 
bishop  at  the  wharf,  and  invited  him  and  the  nine  mis- 
sionaries brought  by  him,  to  their  residence,  and  the 
next  day  was  appointed  to  administer  the  Confirmation. 
None  of  the  PVench  missionaries  had  the  decency  to  be 
present  at  the  Confirmation,  even  to  pay  a  visit  to  the 
Bishop  of  Macao.  Xa\",  on  the  morning  of  the  Con- 
firmation the  l^ishop  of  Macao  liad  forgotten  the  Manu- 
ale  Episcoportim  to  gi\e  Confirmation.  Fie  thought 
that  it  could  be  borrowed  from  the  \'icar-Apostolic 
(who  was  absent),  but  the  Poiluguese  priests  were  in- 
formed that  there  was  no  use  to  send  for  it,  because  the 
French  priests  miglit  not  lend  it  ;  hence  the  poor  bish- 
op was  obliged  to  send  one  of  his  priests  on  board 
the  steamboat  in  order  tn  take  the  Mairnalc  for  the 
Confirmation.  The  steamboat  wharf  is  three  miles 
from  the  town.  The  French  priests  remained  at  home 
with  their  dignit}%  but  the  most  of  the  PTench  congre- 
gation were  present  at  the  Confirmation,  and  the  prin- 
cipal members  of  the  congregation  visited  the  Bishop 
of  Macao.  The  Confirmation  succeeded  with  propriety, 
dignity,  and  solemnity. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE   TROUBLE.  26 1 

When  at  Hong-Kong,  I  remember  that  I  mentioned 
to  the  V'icar-General  of  that  place,  a  good  and  pious 
Itahan,  that  I  had  promised  to  be  in  Singapore  for 
Christmas  to  assist  the  missionaries.  ''  I  suppose,"  he 
said,  "  the  French  missionaries  ? "  ''  No,"  I  repHed, 
"  but  the  Portuguese."  ''  Do  not  do  it,"  he  said  ;  "  it 
would  displease  the  Singapore  bishop  (Vicar-Apostolic) 
very  much."  ''  I  have  promised  it,"  I  said,  "  and  I 
will  not  disappoint  them.  For  these  petty  feelings  I  do 
not  care.     I  have  given  my  word,  and  I  will  keep  it." 

The  origin  and  cause  of  this  trouble  is  as  follows: 
For  many  years  there  have  been  disputes  in  India  and 
Ceylon  between  the  European  and  Goa  priests.  Ec- 
clesiastical patronage  in  the  East  seems  to  have  been 
vested  in  the  King  of  Portugal  in  the  sixteenth  cent- 
ury'. Several  bishoprics  were  created,  and  priests, 
owning  submission  to  the  Archbishop  of  Goa,  were 
gradually  scattered  over  different  parts  of  the  East. 
After  a  time  both  the  zeal  and  means  of  the  Portuguese 
Government  diminished.  The  Pope  then  invited  the 
Superiors  of  Mendicant  Orders  to  send  missionaries 
into  these  countries,  where  congregations  were  left 
without  pastors.  Many  missionaries  were  sent  out  to 
India  who  were  placed  under  Vicars-Apostolic  directly 
under  Rome.  The  Goa  priests,  claiming  the  Concordat 
with  Portugal,  the  patronage  vested  in  the  King  of 
Portugal,  and  their  jurisdiction  from  the  Archbishop  of 
Goa,  refused  to  recognize  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Vicars- 
Apostolic.  In  1S3S,  Ciregory  XV^I.  published  the  l^ull, 
Multa  pncclarc,  wherein-  it  is  said  that  the  Poj)e  abol- 
ished the  four  In(l()-P()rtuL;uese  bishoprics,  situated  out- 
side the  t(-:rritories,  in  political  subjection  to  thc^  then 
Queen  of  Portugal,  and  called  upon  the  Indo-Portu- 
guese  and  (ioanese  priests  to  take  jurisdiction  from  the 
Vicars-Apostolic,  to  whom  the   suppressed  bishoprics 


262  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

were  all  parcelled  out.  But  as  I  have  not  had  an  op- 
portunity to  read  the  Bull,  I  do  not  vouch  this  to  be  a 
correct  interpretation.  This,  however,  is  certain,  that 
the  Goa  priests  did  not  interpret  it  so,  and  still  refused 
to  recognize  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Vicars-Apostolic, 
many  of  whom  abused  the  Goa  missionaries,  terming 
them  schismatics,  calling  on  the  congregations  not 
to  receive  the  Sacraments  at  their  hands,  and  so 
forth,  Pius  IX,  settled  this  scandalous  affair  in  the 
East.  On  the  2ist  of  February,  1857,  '^  Concordat  be-» 
tween  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Portugal  was  signed 
at  Lisbon,  It  provided  "  for  the  continuance  of  the 
exercise  of  the  royal  patronage  in  India  and  China," 
New  bishoprics  may  be  erected.  Article  XVI.  is  as 
follows:  "As  soon  as  the  circumscription  of  any  of  the 
suffragan  bishoprics  in  India  is  established,  and  the 
Episcopal  See  pro\-ided  with  conx'enient  means,  the 
presentation  of  the  bishop  made  b\'  the  Royal  Portu- 
guese Patron  shall  be  recognized  b\'  the  Supreme  Pon- 
tiff, and  as  soon  as  the  respectixe  confirmatory  l^ulls 
are  issued,  the  Vicar,  or  Vicar-Apostolic,  who  may  be 
in  the  territory  of  the  bishopric,  shall  successixx'ly  be 
removed,  in  order  that  the  appointed  prelate  ma\-  enter 
on  the  government  of  his  diocese." 

At  present  every  Portuguese  or  (ioanese  missionary 
who  attends  Portuguese  missions,  cither  on  Portuguese 
territory,  or  on  foreign  territory,  rcceix'es  $100  per  year 
from  the  Portuguese  Government.  Hence  Padre  Pinto 
and  Padre  de  Cunha,  although  on  British  soil,  receive 
each  $100  per  year  from  the  Portuguese  Government, 
because  they  attend  Portuguese  congregations. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  Goanese  priests  continued 
to  be  abused  and  called  Indo-ScJiisuiatic  priests,  and 
are  abused  to  this  very  day  by  some  Vicars-Apostolic 
and  some  of  their  priests.     To  stop  this,  Pius  IX,  de- 


DI^.  FEXXEI.LY  OX  TJIE  PORTUGUESE.  2tl 

clarcd  that  he  t^ivcs  to  them  '"a  personal  extraordinary 
jurisdiction,"  "  {Jnrisdictio  cxtraordiiiaria  personalis). 
This  exphiins  the  reason  why  the  X'icars-Apostolic  are 
against  the  Portuguese  ecclesiastics,  because  these 
vicars  may  be  rcmtn'cd  and  replaced  by  prelates  pre- 
sented by  the  King  of  Portugal  and  appro\'ed  b\'  the 
Pope. 

I  feel  surprised  that  Dr.  l-'ennelh',  \'icar-Apostolic  of 
Madras,  in  his  pastorals  has  expressed  his  opinion 
about  the  Concordat,  lie  doubts  the  abilit\'  o{  l\)rtu- 
gal  to  undertake  the  work.  He  abuses  the  Portuguese 
in  these  words:  ''The  Portuguese  is  a  ver\-  laz}-  ani- 
mal, who  ^vould  rather  squat  the  li\-e-long  day  on  the 
side  of  a  mountain  with  half  a  loaf  than  work  to  earn 
the  other  half.  Portugal  has  not  yet  given  one-six- 
teenth of  £\Q)0,Q)GO  a  year  to  the  propagation  of  faith." 
Another  objection  is  stated  to  be  that  the  schismatic 
priests  are  received  into  favor.  The  change  which  will 
be  produced  by  the  Concordat  is  stated  by  him  as  fol- 
lows :  ''Turning  out  the  Vicars-Apostolic  and  the 
clergymen  serving  under  them,  commendable  alike  for 
piety  and  learning,  and  letting  into  their  places  half- 
educated  priests  of  unsound  faith  and  more  unsound 
morals." 

Dr.  I'ennclly  must  certainly  ha\'e  forgotten  the  serv- 
ice rendered  to  the  Catholic  Church  l)}'  tlie  I'ortuguese 
kings  and  missionaries  with  St.  h'rancis  Xaxi^'r  at  the 
head.  One  of  these  X'ic.us-Aposlolic.  missionar\'  at 
])omba\-,  spoke  to  me  \'er\-  light]}'  of  tin:  Portuguese, 
but  on  Sunday  when  1  !oola-d  at  the  congi'egation,  I 
saw  nothing  else  but  Poi'tugiu'se  dj^cents,  with  very 
fi:\v   e.\cc'])tions.      .So    that,  using   the    language    of    Dr. 

*  See  the  Apostolic  Brief,  '■'Ail  rrpdraHiLi  danina,'"  dated  March  2i, 
1861. 


264  '4    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Fcnnclly,  I  could  say,  "If  it  was  not  for  these  good 
Portuguese  people,  the  missionaries  of  Bombay  could 
squat  the  live-long  day  on  the  side  of  a  Malabar  mount- 
ain." 

While  Dr.  r'ennclly  complains  that  the  "devoted 
friends  of  the  Pope  are  ....  cast  off  like  an  old  shoe," 
I  am  surprised  that  he  adds  the  following:  "But  it  is 
in  extreme  cases  that  the  Papal  authority  is  most  bene- 
ficial to  the  Church,  and  if  th^^  Pope  could  not  do  things 
of  this  kind,  we  might  as  well  have  no  Pope  at  all.""" 

Plere  comes  apropos  an  article  on  this  subject  in  the 
New  York  Tablet j\  extracted  from  a  letter  written  by 
a  secular  correspondent  sent  to  Goa  to  witness  the  im- 
posing ceremonies  at  St.  Francis  Xavier's  celebration. 
This  correspondent  writes  to  the  Allahabad  Pioneer  as 
follows  :  "  From  Panjim  to  Goa  there  is  a  fine,  broad 

causewa}'  the  whole  distance There  are  houses 

all  the  way;  first,  the  village  of  Rhibandar,  and  then 
that  of  St.  Pedro,  the  old  suburb  of  the  city  of  Goa. 
I:,ver}'where  are  signs  that  we  are  in  a  pureh'  Catholic 
country.  Instead  of  the  emblems  of  Mahadoe,  Devi, 
and  Hanuman,:J:  that  would  be  seen  up-country,  there  is 
in  almost  every  compound  and  at  every  other  gate-way  a 
small  cross,  with  frequent  crucifixes  by  the  wayside,  and 
arched  recesses  with  paintings  of  the  archangel  Michael 
and  other  saints.  The  churches,  too,  which  are  nearly 
all  large,  sumptuous  edifices,  stand  with  open  doors,  and 
the  villagers  as  they  pass  put  down  their  bundles  from 
off  their  heads  and  go  inside  for  a  few  moments,  either 
to  say  a  pra\-er  before  the  image  of  the  Blessed  \"irgin, 
or  to  assist  at   Mass,  if  they  happen   to   find   a   priest 


*  Indian  Year-ljook  for  1S62,  by  John  Murdoch.     [Madras,  1S63 
f  The  Xew  York  Tablet,  May  10,  1S79. 
%  These  arc  idols. 


AfASS  A  T  THE  EQUA  TOR.  265 

officiating  at  the  altar.  The  cottages  arc  all  built  of 
masonry.,  and  hav^  a  substantial  and  comfortable  look, 
....  and  througi\  the  open  windows  it  may  be  seen 
that  many  of  the  rooms  are  decorated  with  sacred  pict- 
ures and  images.  The  people,  too,  seem  not  only  bet- 
ter housed,  but  also  better  clothed  and  fed  than  in 
British  India  ;  and  the  little  glimpse  of  Goanese  \illagc 
life  obtained  b\-  a  short  drive,  can  not  but  prove  to  any 
unprejudiced  observer  that  the  work  done  by  St.  Francis 
Xavier  was  really  a  great  and  beneficial  one,  and  that  it 
would  be  a  grand  thing  if  the  whole  of  India  could  be 
moved  b\'  a  like  spirit.  Unlike  the  majority  of  modern 
converts  up-countr\',  who  look  like  mere  masqueraders 
in  foreign  costume,  the  people,  though  Catholic  to  the 
back-bone,  haxe  not  lost  their  nationality,  but  are  in  all 
their  wa\"s  as  thoroughly  Oriental  and  Indian  as  their 
heathen  brethren." 

Padre  de  Cunha  got  sick  two  days  before  Christmas, 
but  so  anxious  was  he  to  have  High  Mass  with  deacon 
and  sub-deacon  at  Christmas,  that  he  would  get  up  in 
order  to  officiate  as  sub  -  deacon.  The  church  \\as 
crowded  to  the  uttermost,  and  the  heat  was  most  in- 
tense, notwithstanding  all  the  windows,  ^\•hich  are  very 
large,  were  open.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  we  were 
onl\'  eighty  miles  from  the  ecjuator.  i\t  Christmas  night, 
attended  by  a  confraternit}'  dressed  in  saccpies,  white 
ca[)s  falling  (n'er  the  neck  and  shoul(k:i's.  and  holding 
lighted  candles,  we  came  nut  of  tiic  vestry  in  procession. 
and  sang  matins,  after  wliich  1  sang  High  Mass,  assist- 
ed by  Padre  Pinto  ruid  I'julie  dc  Cunlia.  .After  the 
Gcjspel,  I  preached  fi-oin  the  pulpit,  and  I  atlmired  the 
attention  and  dux-otion  of  tlie  ])eople,  amongst  whom 
there  were  some  Pi'otcstant:^.  Accustomed  to  the  cold 
and  deep  snows  of  Maine  in  the  L'nited  States  of  Amer- 
ica, preaching  and  singing  Mass  nearly  under  the  equa- 


266  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

tor  was  a  very  trying  experiment  for  me.  The  perspi 
ration  was  pouring  off  me,  and  all  my  garments  were 
truly  soaked.  I  remembered  what  Very  Rev.  Monsig- 
nore  Fitzpatrick,  D.D.,  told  me  in  Melbourne,  that  in. 
this  climate  it  is  difficult  at  Christmas  to  impress  on  the 
minds  of  the  people,  who  are  op[)ressed  with  heat,  that 
the  infant  Jesus,  when  He  was  born  in  the  heart  of  the 
winter,  was  suffering  from  cold.  I  am  a  witness  of  the 
truth  of  this  observation. 

In  these  latitudes  all  masses  are  celebrated  early,  and 
on  Sundays  and  holy  days  of  obligation.  Mass  is  also 
celebrated  early,  not  only  on  account  of  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  but  also  on  accoimt  of  the  soldiers,  who  go  to  Mass 
early.  In  every  phice  where  1  British  troops  are  stationed, 
the  missionary,  or  one  of  them,  if  more  than  one  priest 
resides,  is  also  a  military  chaplain,  paid  b)'  the  (Govern- 
ment. The  same  is  the  case  with  the  rortugucse  and 
French  chaplains  in  Portuguese  and  hVench  territories. 

After  I  had  retired  into  my  room  a  Malacca  police- 
man, who,  the  day  before,  had  taken  a  prisoner  to  Siiiga- 
pore,  and  who  had  imbibed  a  little  too  much,  came  to 
the  missionary  house,  and  very  loudly  demanded  of  the 
Padre  to  see  the  priest  who  had  preached.  They  told 
him  that  the  priest  was  tired  and  about  retiring,  but  to 
come  in  the  morning  and  then  he  could  see  him.  "  No," 
cried  the  policeman,  ''  I  must  sec  him  now."  "  Vou  c;i.!"i 
not  see  him  now,"  said  the  Padre,  ''we  can  not  disturb 
him."  "I  must,"  said  he,  "ask  him  some  ([uestions 
about  the  sermon  ;  I  \\\\\  have  it  printed,  it  was  a  grand 
sermon,  el()f[uent,"  etc.  The  Padre  succeeded  in  [)er- 
suading  him  to  go  awa\',  but  after  imbibing  a  few  more 
drops  he  returned,  and  commenced  to  cry  louder  than 
before,  insisting  u])on  the  same  subject,  but  they  sent 
him  away,  closed  the  gate  of  the  large  porch  on  him, 
and  retired  to  bed. 


A  MISSfiVG  COOK'.  267 

In  the  morning  I  received  a  visit  from  Rev.  Mr. 
Thompson,  an  EpiscopaHan  minister,  who  was  present 
It  Mass;  he  assured  me  that  he  felt  mucli  moved  by 
die  sermon,  and  wdien  he  heard  the  Pater  Nosier  sung, 
could  hardly  restrain  the  tears.  Many  other  persons  of 
respectability  came  to  welcome  me  and  bid  good  Christ- 
mas. At  Christmas  all  children  with  respect  and  devo- 
tion have  the  custom  of  kissing  the  hands  of  their  par- 
ents and  of  the  pastors  and  other  priests,  and  bid  them 
a  good  Christinas,  not  only  small  children,  but  grown 
young  men  and  \\omen.  This  tribute  of  respect  toward 
their  parents  and  clergy  contributes  very  much  to  pre- 
serve and  protect  youngsters  from  evils  and  bad  corn- 
pan}-,  which  is  the  spring  and  nursery  of  vices,  irrelig- 
ion,  and  infidelit}'. 

In  the  morning,  after  breakfast,  the  cook — a  native — - 
went  to  Padre  Pinto,  the  Superior  of  the  Missions, 
and  said  :  "  h\ather,  I  want  two  hours  to  visit  my  friends  ; 
to-day  it  is  Christmas;  I  am  a  Christian,  and  I  want  to 
make  Christmas  like  all  other  Christians."  Padre  Pinto 
gave  him  permission  to  go  to  see  his  friends  for  two 
hours,  but  earnestl)'  recommended  to  stay  no  IcMiger 
than  two  hours,  and  to  return  soon,  because  he  had  to 
prepare  Christmas  dinner.  lie  promised  faithfully  that 
he  would  sureh'  return  in  two  hours,  and  went  awa\^ 

Two  hours  passed,  three,  and  four,  l)ut  no  a])pearance 
of  the  cook.  This  ])ut  the  Padre  in  some  anxietx',  es- 
pecially as  there  was  ikj  dinner  prepaied.  I  he\'  inquired 
abf)ut  him,  and  learned  that  he  had  got  drunk.  You 
may  think  of  the  distress  of  those  poor  Padres.  .V  kind 
of  dinner  was  gotten  up  as  well  as  circumstances  per- 
mitted, yet  Christmas  day  passed  over  in  joking  about 
the  manner  in  which  all  Christians  make  Christmas  ac- 
cording to  the  notion  of  this  native  cook. 

After   Christmas   1    spent    my   time    in    visiting    the 


268  ^    rOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

island.  Singapore  or  Singapura,  meaning  in  the  na- 
tive language,  "  Tiger  City,''  is  the  capital  of  the 
Straits  Settlements,  comprising  Singapore,  Penang,  and 
Malacca.  It  stands  at  an  excellent  center  of  commerce, 
on  an  island  twenty-five  miles  long  by  fourteen  broad, 
separated  from  the  Johore  mainland  by  a  strait  one- 
quarter  to  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  opposite  Su- 
matra, Borneo,  etc.,  with  a  population  of  about  100,000,  of 
whom  fully  55,000  are  Malay's  and  Chinese.  There  are 
also  many  Germans.  The  total  population  of  the  set- 
tlements is  30<S,ioo  inhabitants,  chiefly  ^Malays  and 
Chinese.  I'lnglish  and  h'rench  steamers  arrive  every 
other  week  from  England  and  India,  for  China  and 
Japan,  and  every  other  week  from  Japan  and  China 
for  India  and  England  ;  that  is,  one  week  the  English, 
and  the  other  the  Erench,  so  that  every  week  there  is  a 
steamer  each  way.  Besides  these,  an  Italian  line  runs  to 
Batavia.  Dutch  steamers  run  ever}^  week  to  Batavia  in 
two  da\'s.  The  Dutch  steamers  run  also  to  Samarang, 
etc.  Spanish  steamers  run  to  Manilla  and  other  ports  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  but  not  regularly.  The  Eastern 
and  Australian  Company's  steamers  leave  every  four 
weeks  for  Queensland,  Sydney,  and  Melbourne.  I 
visited  the  Buddhist  temple  and  the  .joss-house,  with 
the  statue  of  a  Sun  ha\'ing  a  large  carved  bull  in  his 
mouth  at  the  entrance  gate.  Joss-sticks  burned  as  is 
usual  in  the  Buddhist  temples,  and  there  was  a  large 
drum  and  bell  hanging  from  the  roof.  PerambuLiting 
restaurants,  with  natives  beating  bamboo  sticks  to  draw 
customers,  are  found  very  frequently.  There  is  a  fine 
esplanade.  Singapore,  being  a  free  port,  is  a  great 
entrepot  of  European  and  Asiatic  merchandise.  The 
city  is  situated  on  two  sides  of  a  salt  creek,  which  empties 
itself  into  the  sea  at  the  west  head  of  a  deep  ba\-,  and 
which  is  navigable  for  small  boats  only,  hence  vessels  are 


A  CHINESE  FUNERAL. 


269 


obliged  to  lie  at  the  wharves  three  miles  from  the  town. 
There  are  two  excellent  markets  daily,  for  vegetables, 
fruits,  fish,  meat,  etc.  I  have  purchased  good  pine- 
apples for  a  cent  apiece.  A  captain  returning  from 
Siam,  brought  to  us  a  large  quantity  of  sweet  Siamese 
oranges.  In  front  of  the  island  there  is  a  chain  of 
islands  inhabited  by  a  few  wild  tribes  little  kn(jwn.  We 
visited  Air.  W'hampoa's  countr\' seat,  whose  elegant  and 
extensi\e  gardens  are  truly  magnificent.  Although  it 
was  not  the  season  for  nutmegs,  yet  I  visited  those 
plantations,  which  were  in  full  bloom.  From  Buket 
Temah,  fi\e  hundred  feet  abo\-e  the  sea,  the  highest 
spot  on  the  island,  there  is  a  grand  and  magnificent 
view  all  round.  Near  the  town  a  TLuropean  garrison 
is  permanently  located. 

(3ne  day,  while  walking,  m\'  attention  was  attracted 
b\-  the  sound  of  a  gong  and  at  intervals  the  striking  of 
bamboo  sticks.  A  large  crowd  of  nati\'es  and  Chinese 
men,  women,  and  children,  were  occupying  the  full  width 
of  the  road,  marching  and  keeping  time  to  the  sound 
of  the  bamboo.  As  the  movement  was  rather  brisk, 
the  dust  was  rising  in  clouds,  thus  sheltering  the  multi- 
tude frum  the  scourging  rays  of  a  tropical  sun.  It  was 
a  Chinese  funeral.  The  procession  opens  by  two  China- 
men, holding  two  tall  trees,  on  the  summit  of  which 
there  were  fastened  white  cotton  or  linen  cloths  hanging 
on  the  outer  sides  ;  on  the  middle  sides  the  cloth  joined 
in  the  form  of  a  canopy,  but  held  b\'  two  poles  distant 
one  \'ard  from  each  other;  tlu'U  a  little  temple  of  the 
size  of  two  or  three  x'ards  held  1)\-  two  men.  This 
temple  contained  an  itlol,  1  bel;e\e  to  be  Huddha, 
and  it  was  followed  by  a  Cln'ne^^e  ])i'ie.-l.  dressed  in  full 
clear  blue  robes,  and  Chine-^e  mitre,  and  a  man  holding 
an  umbrella  without  ornami,;nls,  to  shelte'r  the  priest's 
head.     Here  came  two  men  carrying  a  stretcher  covered 


;7o 


A    TOUR  ry  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


with  a  light-colored  pall,  on  which  lay  the  corpse  un- 
covered, whose  head  was  sheltered  by  a  highly-ornament- 
ed umbrella,  embroidered  in  silk  and  gold,  carried  by  an- 
other man  walking  behind  the  corpse.  Here  a  large 
multitude  followed  in  silence  and  without  order,  occu- 
pying the  entire  road,  and  tramping  to  the  sound  of  the 
gong.  I  retired  close  to  a  wall  to  give  room  to  the  pro- 
cession, and  at  the  same  time  I  had  leisure  to  observe 
it  while  passing  before  me.  I  was  so  luck\'  as  to  meet 
the  same  jjrocession  returning  after  the  burial.  They 
marched  with  the  same  order  and  in  the  same  manner, 
except  that  the  stretcher  was  carried  privately  and 
aside,  and  they  marched  at  a  cjuicker  step,  and  many 
were  throwing  bundles  in  the  air  and  catching  them 
again.  I  do  not  know  what  these  bundles  were,  but  I 
perceived  that  some  were  white  handkerchiefs  with 
knots.  1  do  not  know  whether  these  bundles  thrown 
in  the  air  were  signs  of  joy  or  respect ;  perhaps  the}' 
meant  that  tJic  soul  of  the  dead  person  had  ^<^one  up  to 
heaven,  just  as  these  bundles  7ve?u\s^o?ni^-  up  to  the  ai?'. 

Accomipanied  by  the  good  Padres  and  b}-  many 
fiiends,  I  went  to  the  Maliva,  one  of  the  Peninsular  and 
Oriental  Compan\-'s  steamers,  Capt.  Tomley,  an  expe- 
rienced and  gentlemanly  officer;  and  after  man\' cor- 
dial embraces,  kisses,  and  shaking  of  hands,  I  sailed  for 
Malacca  and  Penang.  It  was  raining  \-ci'\'  fast,  but  the 
sea  was  calm,  and  I  had  no  fear  of  sea-sickness.  My 
state-room  was  in  a  good  location,  and  I  was  alone 
therein. 

Ver\'  early  in  tb.e  morning,  in  about  sixteen  hours, 
we  were  opposite  to  Malacca,  a  city  on  the  western 
coast  of  the  peninsula  of  Malacca  or  Malaya,  on  the 
straits  of  the  same  name.  ]''ormerl\-  it  was  a  prosper- 
ous city  of  about  34,000  inhabitants,  and  its  port  \\as 
the   principal   place   for  exports  of   tin,    sago,   pepper, 


MALACCA.  271 

canes,  gold-dust,  etc.  but  since  the  occupation  of  Pulo- 
Penang  by  the  British  it  has  lost  much  of  its  impor- 
tance, and  the  population  has  declined  to  12,000. 

This  city  has  several  spacious  and  handsome  streets, 
and  many  houses  well  built  of  stone.  There  is  a  good 
roadstead  about  one  and  a  half  miles  distant  from  the 
town,  but  the  entrance  of  the  river  by  boat  is  difficult. 
It  is  just  opposite  to  the  Island  of  Sumatra,  a  little  over 
two  degrees  north  of  the  line,  hence  the  climate  is  very 
hot.  The  city  was  built  in  the  thirteenth  century  by 
the  Malays — a  people  of  Asia,  who  intermarried  with 
the  Arabians,  whose  religion  and  language  they  adopted, 
and  formed  themselves  into  a  distinct  nation,  and  thus 
became  separated  from  their  original  stock,  and  formed 
a  powerful  empire.  Their  Sultans  subdued  Sumatra, 
where  they  seem  to  have  dwelt  previously  to  their  set- 
tling in  Malacca.  They  afterward  occupied  the  rest  of 
the  Sunda  Islands,  the  Philippines,  the  Moluccas,  and 
even  some  of  the  Australian  islands,  and  carried  on  a 
very  extensive  commerce  in  Asia,  and  the  harbors  of 
Malacca  were  not  only  filled  with  their  own  ships,  but 
also  with  those  of  China,  Cochin-China,  Ilindostan,  and 
Siam.  They  planted  many  colonies,  where  they  propa- 
gated their  religion,  the  Mohammedan.  They  are  now 
di\'ided  into  distinct  tribes,  without  an\'  general  head, 
owing  jjrincipally  to  the  superioritx'  of  the  Euro[)eans, 
and  to  the  feudal  s}-stem  of  the  Malays,  b\-  which  the 
national  power  has  been  divided,  and  the  power  of  the  \'as- 
sals  increased,  who  obey  their  superior — the  Sultan — onh- 
wheii  they  ])lease.  The  great  body  of  the  nation  con- 
sists of  .sla\'es  ;  their  masters  are  the  ora)silai^  or  nobili- 
ty, who  are  independent,  and  sell  their  services,  d'hese 
Malays  are  diffLrtnt  from  liie  Hindoos,  Hirmans,  and 
Siamese.  They  pa\'  more  respect  to  their  absurtl  laws 
of  honor,  than  to  justice  and  humanity.      P'orce  contin- 


272  A    TOUH  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

ually  triumphs  among  them  over  weakness.  Their 
treaties  and  promises  of  friendship  continue  so  long  as 
their  interests  are  safe.  They  are  strong  and  nerv- 
ous, and  of  a  dark  brown  color.  Their  hair  is  long, 
bhick,  and  shining;  the  nose  large  and  flat;  their  eyes 
full  of  fire  and  brilliancy.  They  are  treacherous,  impa- 
tient of  constraint,  violent  even  to  fur\-,  artful,  have  a 
great  love  of  plunder,  piracy,  and  blood.  They  are  al- 
ways armed,  and  arc  perpetually  at  war  amongst  them- 
selves, or  engaged  in  plundering  their  neighbors.  No 
free  Malay  is  seen  without  a  dagger  ;  the  people  in 
general  are  very  skillful  in  preparing  weapons,  particu- 
larly daggers.  When  they  find  opportunity  they  will 
attack  European  and  American  vessels  by  surprise,  and 
kill  the  crews  if  the\-  succeed  in  capturing  them.  They 
are  the  most  terrible  pirates  in  the  wliolc  world.  It  is  but 
two  months  ago  that  a  sailing  vessel,  between  Malacca 
and  Penang,  was  caught  in  a  storm,  and  threatened 
with  wrecking  on  the  coast,  when  a  number  of  .Mahu's 
swimming  and  surmounting  the  furious  billows,  assaulted 
the  ship,  seized  it,  murdered  the  crew,  and  phmdered 
the  vessel.  The  ?klala\'s  are  active  only  in  war,  where 
they  are  excited  by  the  thirst  of  robbery  and  blood, 
A\hiie  at  home  the}'  are  indolent,  sluggish,  even  cow- 
ardly, and  they  despise  agriculture.  Labor  is  left  to  be 
done  b}'  their  slaves. 

The  peninsula  of  Malacca,  or  Malaya,  is  connected 
with  Siam  by  the  Isthmus  of  Krau,  which  is  about  775 
miles  long  and  120  miles  broad,  and  is  surrounded  b\' 
the  sea  in  all  other  places.  A  chain  of  lofty  UKnintains 
longitudinally  runs  through  the  entire  peninsula.  It  is 
difficult  to  penetrate  into  the  interior,  on  account  of 
the  extensive  forests  and  m;%vshes.  The  fruits  are  ex- 
cellent  and  abundant,  but  grain  is  not  produced  in  suf- 
ficient quantity  to  supply  the  inhabitants.     It  is  rich  in 


PRINCE  OF  WALES  ISLAND.  275 

diamonds,  precious  stones,  gold,  silver,  tin,  sago,  etc., 
but  few  of  these  great  resources  are  yet  developed. 
The  division  of  this  country  into  a  number  of  petty  inde- 
pendent States  is  a  great  drawback  to  this  fine  penin- 
sula. Malacca  formerly  belonged  to  the  Dutch,  but  in 
1825  it  was  ceded  to  the  English  in  return  for  the 
Presidency  of  Bencolecn.  of  which  the  capital  was  Fort 
Marlborough,  in  Sumatra. 

One  revolution  of  the  earth  and  many  of  the  engine, 
brought  us  to  Penang,  or  Prince  of  Wales  Island ; 
called  by  the  natives  Puh-Pciiajig,  or  Betel-Nut  Island, 
on  account  of  its  resemblance  to  the  areca-nut,  which 
grows  here  in  abundance.  It  is  one  of  the  Straits  Sct- 
tlc})ic)its,  two  miles  off  the  north-west  side  of  Malacca 
Straits,  and  facing  Delih  in  Sumatra;  lat.  5°  25'  north, 
hence  the  climate  is  hot ;  January  and  February  being 
the  dry,  and  April,  Ma}',  and  June,  the  rainy  months; 
but  the  seasons  are  not  wx'll  marked.  The  mornings 
are  cool,  and  sometimes  so  cold  and  fogg\-  that  warm 
clothing  must  be  worn.  The  population  is  about 
132,000  (chiefly  Chinamen,  Malays,  and  Klings,  from 
the  Coromandel  coast),  including  the  Province  of  JVcIlcs- 
/cy,  on  the  Malay  peninsula,  opposite.  The  Chinese 
carry  on  nearly  all  trades.  This  island  is  twenty  miles 
long  and  nine  broad,  divided  longitudinally  by  a  ridge 
of  mountains.  The  Plagstaff  Hill,  2,500  feet  high,  is  a 
fine  point  of  view  for  overlooking  the  sea,  the  ])eii in- 
sula of  Malacca,  etc.  At  the  bottom  is  a  prctl}'  water- 
fall, or  cascade,  50  to  (>0  feet  high.  The  P.  .and  C).  ■'■' 
Compan\"'s  steamers,  outward  and  homeward  bound, 
call  here  every  fortnight.  There  are  about  one  hun- 
dred sorts  of  fruits,  among.-t   which  are   mangoes  and 


*  P.   and   O.   means    I'oiiinsuli.r  and   Oriental.      N.B. — 'J'he    penin 
sula  signifies  the  peninsula  of  S[)ain. 


274 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


mangostcens,  considered  by  the  Chinese,  who  style  it 
the  fruit  of  Paradise,  to  be  the  most  luscious  fruit  in 
the  world.  Wellesley  is  a  strip  35  miles  long,  by  an 
average  of  80  miles  broad,  bought  of  the  Rajah  in 
1800.  The  capital  of  this  island  is  Georgetown — a  free 
port,  purchased  by  the  East  India  Company  from  the 
Rajah  of  Quedah,  in  1/86,  now  transferred  to  the 
Crown.  Here  we  found  several  Dutch  men-of-war,  be- 
longing to  the  Dutch  squadron  besieging  Acheen,  try- 
ing to  reduce  that  empire,  which  had  revolted  against 
the  Dutch. 

Having  taken  a  full  cargo  of  tin,  filling  even  the  va- 
cant state-rooms,  the  Makua  left  for  Point  de  Galles,  in 
the  island  of  Ceylon,  steering  toward  Sumatra.  In  a 
icv^  hours  we  sighted  the  majestic  Mount  Ophir,  or  the 
(jold  Mountain,  in  Sumatra,  imniediately  under  the 
cciuinoctial  line,  whose  summit,  like  a  stupendous  cone 
(Ml  the  horizon,  being  elevated  13,842  feet,  is  the  high- 
est visible  ridge  from  sea.  This  island,  the  largest 
and  most  westerly  of  the  Sunda  Islands,  is  crossed 
longitudinally  by  a  range  of  mountains,  whose  ranges 
are,  in  man\'  parts,  double  and  treble.  The  island  is 
about  1,000  miles  long,  and  165,  on  an  average,  broad. 
yVmong  the  ridges  of  mountain,  are  extensive  plains  of 
great  elevation,  aiid  of  temperate  climate.  The  soil  is 
generally  fertile.  ,\  great  portion  of  the  island  is  cov- 
ered with  impenetrable  forests.  There  are  man\'  lakes 
and  marshes.  It  is  rich  in  minerals,  and  it  has  alw'ax's 
been  famous  for  gold,  which  is  \'et  produced  in  consid- 
erable (|uantit\'.  A  great  variety  of  ex([uisit<,:  fruits  and 
precious  herbs  are  found  in  abundance,  antl  it  teems 
with  wild  animals,  such  as  elephants,  tigers,  rhinoce- 
roses, alligators,  etc.  ;  also  birds  of  various  kinils.  There 
are  sevuriil  volcanoes  in  action,  and  the  island  is  subject 
to   severe   eartlupiakes.      The   natives   are   divided   into 


A  CHE  en:  275 

several  sections,  called  empires  ;  namely,  the  Battas  in 
the  north-west ;  the  Gongus,  who  live  amongst  the  moun- 
tains ;  the  LanipiLiigs  in  the  south  ;  and  the  Reyang,  who 
dwell  between  these  last  two  peoples.  The  Malays  gen- 
erally occupy  the  harbors  and  the  cities  along  the  sea- 
coast. 

We  rounded  Cape  Diamond  and  soon  came  along 
Acheen,  where  we  found  a  number  of  Dutch  war  ves- 
sels. The  Dutch  have  tried  for  several  years  to  extin- 
guish the  revolt  at  Acheen  (or  Atchcai,  or  Acheui,  or 
Achen),  but  so  far  they  have  not  succeeded.  They 
have  lost  many  men  by  fevers  and  other  sickness ;  the 
expenses  have  been  immense,  and  I  understand  that 
they  are  now  faring  badly.  The  kingdom,  or  empire,  of 
Acheen  extends  from  Cape  Diamond  in  the  north,  to 
Barous  in  the  south.  It  contains  200,oco  inhabitants, 
originally  Malays.  They  arc  stronger,  better  formed, 
darker,  and  more  industrious  than  the  rest  on  the  isl- 
and, but  Mohammedans,  superstitious,  and  wicked ; 
they  always  carry  a  poisoned  arm,  which  they  call  Cric. 
The  land  is  rich  in  rice,  cotton,  etc.,  and  excellent 
fruits;  there  are  mines  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper. 
There  arc  many  animals,  plants,  and  fruits  quite  un- 
known in  Europe.  The  capital  of  this  kingdom  is  also 
called  Achcoi,  and  the  population  is  about  36,000.  The 
chief  trade  now  is  with  Hindostan,  and  consists  in  gold- 
dust,  receiving  in  return,  jewels,  sapan-wood,  betel-nut, 
sulphur,  and  a  few  other  articles  ;  but  opium,  arms, 
iron,  etc.,  are  brought  there  by  the  Europeans.  The 
people  are  expert  and  bold  sailors,  and  employ  a  large 
number  of  vessels  in  trade  and  fishing.  The  weather 
was  splendid,  and  I  greatly  enjoyed  the  passage  to 
Ceylon,  and  the  agreeable  company.  The  officers  of 
the  Mahva  were  gentlemanly  and  sociable,  but  the 
table  was  abominable,  and  did   no  credit  to  the  V.  and 


2/6  A    7 OUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

O.  Company.  At  some  meals  we  had  only  cold  food,, 
which  nobody  could  eat  or  relish.  Between  nine  and 
ten  o'clock  we  had  tea,  and  as  I  can  not  drink  it,  the 
captain  ordered  coffee  for  me. 

We  passed  between  Acheen  and  the  island  Way,  then 
north  of  the  island  Tondo.  We  went  south  of  the  isl- 
ands Nicobar,  which  archipelago  is  formed  of  nineteen 
islands,  on  which  the  Danes,  in  1756,  formed  a  settle- 
ment, but  were  obliged  to  give  it  up  on  account  of  the 
mortality  among  the  colonists.  The  thick  forests  and 
heavy  dews  render  the  climate  unhealthy  to  foreigners. 
They  produce  plantain,  bread-fruit,  sassafras,  etc.  An 
island  of  the  same  name  is  the  principal  and  capital. 

From  the  Nicobar  Islands  to  Point  de  Gallc,  in  the 
Island  of  Ceylon,  the  steamer  makes  the  run  in  three 
days.  In  the  Indian  Ocean,  on  several  occasions,  we 
saw  schools  of  porpoises,  and  many  large  flying-fishes. 
While  we  were  amusing  ourselves  on  deck,  looking  at 
the  sea-hogs,  or  porpoises  of  enormous  size,  a  friend  of 
mine,  a  fellow-passenger,  asked  me  whether  I  would 
like  to  be  introduced  to  his  Highness  the  brother  of 
his  Majesty  the  king  of  the  Maldive  Islands.  I  ac- 
cepted the  invitation,  and  I  was  taken  to  the  f(ire-part 
of  the  ship,  where  the  third-class  passengers  were  ; 
there  I  saw  a  thin,  tall,  beggarly-looking  native,  dressed 
like  a  Mussulman,  wearing  an  old,  dirty  cashmere 
brown  gown,  over  a  not  over-clean  shirt ;  he  had  a  cap 
and  sandals  ;  his  name  was  Aliditi.  Though  the  clothes 
were  very  dirty  and  in  rags ;  the  face  very  dark,  and  ema- 
ciated ;  yet  the  features  were  regular,  but  without  ex- 
pression ;  the  eyes  small  and  brilliant,  without  fire.  He 
appeared  melancholy,  and  had  little  to  say.  He  was 
the  highness,  the  brother  of  the  king  of  tlic  Maldive 
Islands.  He  ga\e  us  some  information  about  these 
islands.     This   cluster   is    formed    of    twelve    thousand 


THE  LA  CCA  DIVE  ISLANDS. 


277 


islands,  mostly  small,  many  of  which  have  no  inhabit- 
ants,  and  are  situated  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  about  270 
miles  south-west  of  Cape  Comorin.  They  supply  ves- 
sels with  sails  and  cordage,  cocoa-nuts,  dry  fish,  and 
other  articles.  They  are  divided  into  seventeen  Atto- 
loons,  or  provinces,  each  of  which  has  its  particular  sul- 
tan, who  rules  with  great  oppression.  The  subjects  are 
very  poor,  and  none  of  them  dare  wear  any  dress 
above  the  waist,  except  a  turban,  without  a  particular 
license.  Tliese  sultans  are  all  subject  to  one  Great 
Sultan,  who  resides  at  Alalediva,  tlie  capital  city  of  this 
chain  of  islands,  in  the  Island  of  Malediva.  They  have 
only  four  ports  in  which  their  few  articles  of  commerce 
arc  collected.  The  climate  is  intensely  hot  and  very 
sickly  for  Europeans,  who  have  never  formed  any  set- 
tlement on  these  islands.  The  Laccadive  Islands,  a 
cluster  of  thirty-two  small  islands,  arc  at  the  north  of 
the  Maldive  cluster,  about  120  miles  from  the  coast  of 
Malabar;  they  are  all  small,  rocky,  and  co\-ercd  with 
trees.  They  are  generally  visited  by  English  ships  on 
their  way  from  India  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  prin- 
cipal traffic  of  the  inhabitants  are  the  produce  of  the 
cocoa  palm,  as  oil,  cables,  and  cordage  prepared  from 
this  plant.  They  carry  dried  fish  to  India,  and  in  re- 
turn they  get  rice,  etc.  They  trade  also  with  Muscat, 
in  large  boats,  and  bring  back  coffee  and  dates.  Axw- 
bergris  is  often  found  floating  off  these  islands.  The 
inhabitants  are  called  Moplays^  and  are  mostly  Moham- 
medans. These  islands  are  su])p()sed  to  be  what  Ptol- 
emy called  Insuhc  Xiti/uro  A'lX. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

CKYLON — POINT  DE  GALLES — COLOMBO — CANDY  OR  KANDY — TOOTH  OF 
BUDDHA — COLOMBO  AGAIN — REMARKS  ON  CEYLON — SAIL  FOR  THE 
CONTINENT   OF    INDIA — LANDING   AT    TUTICORIN. 

On  the  last  evening  of  our  voyage  to  Ceylon,  the 
first-class  passengers,  not  many  in  number,  arranged  to 
have  a  dance  on  deck,  and  found  some  musicians 
amongst  the  deck  passengers.  I  was  invited  to  dance 
with  an  English  lady,  but  I  politely  declined  the  honor. 
An  iMiglish  lady  also  refused  to  dance.  She  told  me 
that  three  months  ago  her  husband,  an  officer  in  the 
British  army,  had  died  of  typhoid  fever  in  Shanghai, 
China;  that  she  had  four  children,  and  that  the  Sisters 
of  Charity  there  had  taken  charge  of  a  girl,  while  the 
three  others,  including  a  baby  of  a  few  months,  were 
with  her  on  their  way  to  England.  She  was  a  Catholic. 
At  8  P.M.  I,  first  of  all,  discovered  the  light-house  on 
Ceylon,  and  at  2  A.M.,  Wednesday,  the  3d  of  January, 
the  noble  Melwa  cast  anchor  on  the  roadstead  of  Point 
de  Galle. 

In  the  morning  the  steamer  was  surrounded  by  a 
large  number  of  catamarans,  called  also  pilot  canoes, 
which  arc  very  long,  but  only  sixteen  inches  broad,  and 
very  swift.  Outriggers  prevent  them  from  upsetting. 
Only  few  passengers  ventured  to  land  on  them,  and  I 
with  four  Australian  gentlemen  united  in  one  party, 
landed  together  in  a  large  boat,  took  care  of  our  bag- 
gage, saw  it  through  the  custom-house,  stayed  together 
(278) 


PILOT  CANOES. 


279 


at  the  same  hotel,  and  traveled  in  company  to  Co- 
lombo. 

While  on  board  we  contemplated  the  extremely  pict- 
uresque view  of  the  coast — a  fine,  undulating,  well- 
wooded  country  stretching  to  the  water's  edge,  fringed 
by  cocoanut-trees  ;  lofty  verdant  ranges  towering  in  the 
distance,  covered  with  groves  of  Palmyra  palms  and 
other  timber,  while  far  in  the  distance  rose  the  zone  of 
purple  hills,  behind  which  towered  the  sacred  mountain, 
Adaiiis  Pick,  7,420  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  with 
its  summit  enveloped  in  clouds.  The  blue  sea  of  the 
bay  and  wooded  hills  that  encircle  it  truly  presented  a 
magnificent  panorama. 

A  number  of  vendors  of  precious  stones  came  on 
board.  Capt.  Tomley  notified  the  passengers  that  those 
stones  were  only  imitation  precious  stones,  and  in  land- 
ing to  beware  of  the  numerous  dealers  in  these  bogus 
articles,  who  ask  for  their  goods  eight  or  ten  times  what 
they  are  worth. 

Canoes,  not  carr\^ing  more  than  two  persons,  can  be 
hired,  sixpence  each  inside  the  harbor,  one  shilling  out- 
side,— boats  carrying  four  or  six  persons,  as  licensed, 
sixpence  inside,  one  shilling  outside, — if  only  one  per- 
son, one  shilling  inside,  two  shillings  outside.  Our  i)arty 
made  a  special  bargain  for  us  and  baggage.  .After  land- 
ing, the  entire  luggage  was  put  on  a  cart  and  carried 
to  the  Custom-house,  where  both  cart  and  baggage  were 
left  in  a  spacious  hall,  while  we  went  to  the  Oriental 
(Company's  handsome  hotel,  which  charges  about  $5  per 

The  heat  was  extreme,  yet  I  tried  to  visit  what  little 
was  worth  seeing,  namely,  tlie  fort,  tlie  Buddhist  tem- 
ple, with  colossal  figures  on  it,  and  the  old  Dutch  wall, 
twenty  feet  thick.  Having  withdrawn  our  luggage 
from  the   Custom-house,   where    our    word   was   found 


28o  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

sufficient,  the  polite  officers  letting  it  pass  without  open- 
ing anything,  I  visited  the  Catholic  church,  a  small, 
neat  chapel.  The  Catholic  population  of  Point  de 
Galle  is  1,730.  The  hard-working  Father  Andreas 
Bergeretti,  the  only  priest  on  the  place,  has  to  attend 
four  other  churches.  He  has  to  say  one  Mass  for  the 
troops,  and  another  for  the  congregation.  Then  1  went 
to  the  native  town  called  Pettah,  where  there  is  nothing 
worth  seeing.  The  houses  are  one  story  high,  and 
spacious,  each  having  a  veranda  supported  by  pillars 
the  entire  length  of  the  front.  The  streets  are  narrow, 
and  although  the  town  is  said  to  be  healthy,  yet  several 
cases  of  cholera  were  reported.  Point  de  Galle  is  the 
name  given  by  the  Portuguese  when  they  held  posses- 
sion of  the  island.  It  is  supposed  to  be  the  Serindcb  of 
the  Holy  Bible — at  present  is  named  "  Cock's  Point." 
The  natives  call  it  Galla  (open  ground).  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  public  buildings,  there  is  little  to  be 
found  of  interest  to  the  visitor  within  the  town,  and  a 
few  hours  will  be  found  sufficient  to  visit  all.  I  made 
arrangements  to  leave  the  same  evening  by  the  mail 
road  for  Colombo,  the  capital  of  the  island.  The  pop- 
ulation of  Point  de  Galle  is  7,000.  The  horse  mail  to 
Colombo,  the  road  being  about  seventy  miles  along  the 
coast,  runs  in  eleven  to  twelve  hours;  it  changes  horses 
ten  times,  and  it  goes  twice  a  day,  that  is  at  6  A.M.  and 
at  6  V.Vl.     The  cost  is  £2. 

The  road  is  rich  in  scenery;  it  is  literally  an  avenue 
of  palm-trees  and  cocoanut-trees,  of  which  there  are 
about  twenty  millions  in  the  island.  About  half  way 
there  is  a  hotel  called  Bentotte.  Here  we  were  re- 
quested to  pay  a  rupee""''  each.  We  went  to  the  hotel, 
which  was  very  romantic  and  primitive,  with  hardly  a 

*  A  rupee  is  a  silver  Indian  coin  of  about  half  a  dollar. 


COLOMBO.  281 

chair  in  it,  and  although  there  was  a  large  table,  noth- 
ing to  eat  nor  drink  could  be  found,  notwithstanding 
that  by  law  they  are  required  to  have  ready  coffee  and 
tea,  milk,  soup,  meat,  or  fish,  fruits  and  bread.  For 
myself  I  required  nothing,  but  the  other  passenger  (we 
were  only  two)  wanted  something  warm.  The  hotel- 
keeper  said  there  \\as  some  soup,  but  it  was  cold.  It 
was  brought,  but  it  was  nothing  else  but  the  remains  of 
the  previous  day's  repast,  and  it  was  calculated  to  make 
us  lose  all  appetite.  I  need  not  say  that  it  was 
rejected.  My  friend  ordered  tea,  while  I  took  some 
ale,  for  which  we  paid  half  a  rupee.  During  this 
trip,  in  passing  close  on  the  shore,  which  was  lined 
with  cocoanut-trccs,  I  observed  that  all  these  trees  were 
inclined  toward  the  sea,  and  the  wind,  which  causes 
trees  to  bend  on  the  other  side,  produces  a  contrary  ef- 
fect on  the  cocoanut-trees. 

At  5  A.M.  we  were  at  Colombo,  and  I  went  to  the 
principal  hotel,  the  accommodations  of  which  were  very 
good  at  $4.00  per  diem,  without  wines.  During  the 
afternoon  I  strolled  out  to  take  a  general  survey  of  this 
English  capital  of  the  island,  but  on  the  next  day  I 
started  for  Kandy,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  rich  and 
interesting  country  of  that  name  (anciently  Maagrani- 
miuJi).  The  railroad  for  the  first  few  miles  runs  through 
low  land,  wcll-cukivated  in  extensive  rice-fields.  The 
vegetation  all  around  is  luxuriant  and  magnificent. 
Pine-apples  are  seen  bending  from  their  short  stems, 
and  resting  on  the  ground  ;  ripe  bananas  hanging  in 
large  yellow  clusters  innw  their  soft  herbaceous  stalks, 
while  majestic  palm-trees  disphi)-  but  a  portion  of  the 
rich  vegetation  of  this  happy  island  of  the  Indian 
Ocean,  or  rather  of  the  (iulf  of  Hengal. 

Now  the  railroad  commences  to  ascend,  and  gradu- 
ally unfolds  a  grand  i)anorama  that  for  bold  grandeur 


282  A    TO  UK  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

romantic  scenery,  and  luxuriant  tropical  vegetation, 
distances  all  that  I  have  observed,  either  on  the  long 
Pacific  railroad  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  of  America, 
or  on  the  railroad  across  the  Alps  in  Europe.  These 
generally  present  barren  and  desolate  rocks,  mountains 
destitute  of  vegetation,  inaccessible  peaks  that  frighten 
you  with  their  grim  loneliness,  while  in  Ceylon,  in 
crossing  the  chain  of  steep  mountains,  the  railroad 
either  winds  round  them,  or  serpenting  their  sides, 
presents  grand  and  charming  views.  In  looking  down 
the  abyss  and  deep  chasms  that  gape  below  you,  the 
verdure  and  luxurious  vegetation  of  the  rice-fields,  of 
the  coffee  plantations,  gladdens  the  eye  ;  the  luscious 
fruits  invite  you,  and  the  cool,  foaming  streams  refresh 
you.  In  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Alps,  you  dis- 
cover a  chain  of  hoary  tops  of  hardy  and  weather-beaten 
mountains,  which  have  faced  the  frosts  of  ages,  have 
been  pelted  with  rain  and  hail,  and  shouldered  the 
storms  for  centuries.  Nothing  of  this  kind  exists  in 
Ceylon.  During  the  occasional  windings  of  the  road, 
you  sight  high  mountains  that  smile  with  tropical  ver- 
dure, and  primitive,  thick,  and  impenetrable  forests. 

Before  reaching  the  top  of  this  chain  of  mountains 
that  divides  the  entire  island  in  two,  you  discover  Pe- 
dastallagalla  mountain,  the  highest,  whose  peak  is  8,300 
feet  above  the  sea,  which  can  be  seen,  in  clear  weather, 
at  a  distance  of  150  miles;  then  behind  it,  the  summit 
of  Mount  Adam — the  sacred  mountain  of  the  l^uddh- 
ists,  who  make  pilgrimages  to  it,  and  known  to  them  by 
the  name  of  IlaiiialccL  The  betel-leaf  is  exchanged  by 
them  as  a  sign  of  peace,  for  the  purpose  of  strengthen- 
ing the  bonds  of  kindred,  confirming  friendships,  and 
reconciling  enmities.  A  priest  then  blesses  them  on 
the  summit,  and  enjoins  them  to  live  virtuously  at 
home.     Upon    the   top,  surrounded  by  venerable  old 


KANDY.  283 

trees,  particularly  the  rhododendra,  the  priests  show  a 
footstep,  which,  they  bcHcve,  was  made  by  Buddha. 
They,  the  Hindoos,  and  the  Cingalese,  on  the  summit 
of  this  mountain,  worship  the  colossal  footsteps  of 
Adam,  who,  according  to  their  belief,  was  created  there, 
and,  according  to  the  religion  of  Buddha,  is  Buddha 
himself. 

I  reached  Kandy  in  the  afternoon  and  took  my  lodg- 
ing in  a  very  modest  hotel,  but  the  best  that  could  be 
found  in  the  place.  I  made  arrangements  with  my 
Australian  old  friends,  in  whose  company  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  traveling  for  many  days,  to  visit  the  famous 
gardens  several  miles  out  of  town.  We  were  much 
pleased  with  the  ride,  but  much  more  with  the  gardens, 
which  are  the  most  complete  that  I  have  ever  seen. 
Not  only  is  every  tropical  plant  and  tree  found  there, 
but  also  the  most  of  the  plant's  of  the  temperate  zone. 
Here  I  beheld  that  palm-tree  which  blooms  only  once 
in  one  hundred  years  ;  also  several  varieties  of  the 
traveler's  palm-tree,  whose  trunk,  thrust  with  a  knife, 
jets  limpid  water  to  refresh  the  thirsty  and  weary  trav- 
eler. I  drank  of  it  several  times,  and  always  felt 
refreshed. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  the  many 
si)ecies  of  palm  in  these  gardens,  or  to  mention  the 
various  descriptioiis  of  trees.  The  kind  conservator  and 
our  guide  matle  us  taste  every  \ariet}'  of  fruits  that 
were  ripe.  Oh,  what  rich  and  fragrant  flowers  !  Oh,  what 
expense  to  keep  these  gardens  in  such  good  and  ele- 
gant order!  to  water  them,  to  prune  them,  to  re-place, 
re-plant,  clean  them,  etc.  !  The  plants  and  trees  were 
disposed  in  lots,  some  located  on  the  summit  of  hills, 
others  on  the  sicKs,  more  (jr  less  exposed  to  the  sun, 
and  to  different  currents  of  air;  others  on  o[)en  fields; 
Others  down   deep   slopes,  others  along  the  shores  of 


284  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

rivulets,  others  down  shaded  ravines,  in  order  to  suit 
the  different  nature  of  the  plants  and  trees.  The  guide 
called  our  attention  to  a  new  kind  of  coffee-tree,  whose 
berries  were  very  large,  and  the  trees  also  were,  by  far, 
larger  than  the  common  coffee-plant,  needing  ladders 
to  reach  the  fruit.  No  fees  are  required,  and  the 
guides  accept  nothing. 

It  was  dark  when  we  returned,  but  we  spent  the  rest 
of  the  evening  in  rambling  about.  At  6  A.M.,  from  my 
hotel,  I  heard  a  kind  of  bagpipe  ;  the  sound  was  accom- 
}Kinied  by  bamboo-sticks.  It  came  from  the  Dalada,  or 
Dagoba  (a  temple),  where  the  Buddhist  priests  were 
calling  the  people,  to  worship  the  tooth  of  Buddha  kept 
in  that  Dalada.  At  6  P.M.  the  priests  of  Buddha  do 
the  same,  and  so  on  every  day.  This  tooth  is  set  in 
solid  gold,  \\'\\\\  very  valuable  diamonds  and  other  rare 
precious  stones,  forming  a  very  rich  treasury,  kept  in  a 
closet  closed  by  three  different  kc}'s ;  one  kept  by  the 
priest,  another  by  the  mayor  of  the  town,  and  another 
by  a  dignitary.  I  was  quite  satisfied  in  seeing  the  Da- 
lada, and  the  closet  whei'e  the  tooth  is  kept.  This  Da- 
lada is  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  therefore  must  be  ascended 
to  by  a  flight  of  stairs  ;  but  the  principal  door  is  kept 
closed,  except  in  time  of  prayers.  In  the  porch  out- 
side, there  are  many  {)ictures  of  different  transmigra- 
tions, and  other  stories  concerning  Buddha.  Another 
private  door  is  continually  opened,  through  which  ac- 
cess ma}'  be  obtained. 

Ce}'lon  is  famous  for  Buddhism.  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  confusion  and  unccrtaintx'  about  the  date  of 
Buddha's  death.  That  which  obtains  the  most  general 
credence  is  the  Ceylonese  one,  B.C.  543.  There  is,  how- 
ever, reason  to  believe  that  477  IS.C.  ^\'as  the  more  prob- 
able period.  This  confusion  is  caused  by  not  observing 
that  Buddha  means  "  the  eiiligJitencd  one"  and  that  three 


FO  UR  B  UDDHA  S  IN  THE  FIELD.  285 

Buddhas  had  already  lived.  Now  a  fourth  was  born  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains  of  Ncpaul,  north  of  the  pres- 
ent Oude.  His  father  was  king  of  Kapilavastu. 
When  young,  he  was  thoughtful  and  averse  to  play, 
and  too  much  given  to  contemplation,  which  did  not 
suit  his  father's  tastes.  It  was  not  until  a  much  later 
period  that  he  attained  the  designation  of  Buddha. 
His  parents,  seeking  to  draw  this  handsome  boy  to  a 
more  active  life,  married  him  to  Gopa,  an  accomplished 
princess,  daughter  of  Dandapani.  Although  the  mar- 
riage was  a  happy  one,  yet  he  was  still  thoughtful.  He 
was  in  the  habit  of  saying,  "  Nothing  is  stable  on  earth, 
nothing  is  real.  Life  is  like  the  spark  produced  by 
the  friction  of  wood  :  it  is  lighted,  and  it  is  extinguish- 
ed. It  is  like  the  sound  of  a  lyre,  and  the  wise  man 
asks  in  vain  wdience  is  came,  and  whither  it  goes.  There 
must  be  some  supreme  intelligence  where  we  could  find 
rest.  If  I  attained.it,  I  could  bring  light  to  man;  if  I 
were  free  myself,  I  would  deliver  the  world."  One  day, 
driving  to  one  of  his  pleasure  parks,  he  saw  a  decrepit  old 
man.  "  Alas  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  are  creatures  so  igno- 
rant, so  weak,  and  so  foolish  as  to  be  proud  of  the 
youth  by  which  they  are  intoxicated,  not  seeing  the  old 
age  which  awaits  them  ?  As  for  me,  I  go  aw.vy.  Coach- 
man, turn  my  chariot  quickly.  What  have  I  ;  the  fu- 
ture prey  of  old  age,  what  liave  I  to  do  with  pleasure?  " 
.And  witlKHit  visiting  the  park,  he  returned  to  the  city. 
On  anotlier  similar  occasion  he  came  upon  a  poor  man, 
lying  in  fever,  deserted,  and  read}'  to  die.  "  Alas  I  "  he 
cried,  '' healtli  is  but  the  s[)()rt  of  a  dream,  and  the  fear 
of  suffering  must  take  this  frightful  form.  WHiere  is  the 
wise  man,  who,  after  having  l)c;en  wliat  he  is,  could  any 
longer  think  of  joy  or  pleasure?"  And  he  ordered  that 
his  cliariot  should  l)e  turned  and  driven  back  to  the 
city.     Another  lime  lie  came   upon   a  dead   body  laid 


286  A    TOUJ^  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

upon  a  bier,  round  which  the  relatives  and  friends  of 
the  deceased  were  sobbing  and  tearing  their  hair. 
"  Oh  !  "  said  the  Prince,  "woe  to  youth,  which  must  be 
destroyed  by  old  age  !  Woe  to  health,  which  must  be 
destroyed  by  so  many  diseases  !  Woe  to  this  life,  where 
a  man  remains  so  short  a  time!  If  there  were  no  old 
age,  no  disease,  no  death.  If  these  could  be  made  cap- 
tive forever.  Let  us  turn  back ;  I  must  think  how  to 
accomplish  deliverance."  Finally,  seeing  a  devotee 
leading  an  austere  life,  and  receiving  explanations  on 
the  subject  from  his  coachman,  he  said  :  "  The  life  of  a 
devotee  has  always  been  praised  by  the  wise.  It  will 
be  my  refuge,  and  the  refuge  of  other  creatures.  It 
will  lead  into  a  real  life — to  happiness  and  immortality." 
And  ordering  his  chariot  back,  returned  to  the  city. 

Buddha  now  intimated  to  his  father  and  to  his  wife 
his  intention  of  retiring  from  the  world.  Soon  after,  he 
escaped  from  his  palace  while  the  guards  were  asleep, 
rode  all  night,  and  in  the  morning  sent  his  horse  and 
his  ornaments  back  to  Kapilavastu,  and  became  the 
disciple,  first  of  one,  and  then  of  another  Brahman  ; 
but  soon  left  them,  being  dissatisfied  with  their  teach- 
ing. He  then  created  his  own  system,  and  taught  it  at 
Benares,  Rajagriha,  the  capital  of  Magadha,  and  other 
places,  and  died  about  the  age  of  seventy  or  eight}- 
years.  The  great  emperor,  Asoka,  was  converted  to 
Buddhism,  and  through  the  instrumentality  of  his 
power  and  wealth,  this  sect  v/as  introduced  into  Cey- 
lon, whither  he  sent  his  brother  Mahindo,  and  his  sister 
Sangamitta  on  a  missionary  embassy  to  the  Court  of 
Ceylon.  Gradually  it  spread  into  Burmah,  Siam,  and 
other  countries.  Asoka  presided  at  the  third  Buddhist 
Council  held  at  Palibothra.  Buddha's  tooth  was  sent 
to  Kandy,  where  a  temple  Cthc  Dalada)  was  erected  to 
hold  it,  and  another  tcniple  was  built  in  this  island  to 


KANDY.  287 

hold  Buddha's  collar-bone.  I  have  been  assured  by 
well-informed  people  at  Ceylon,  that  the  Portut^ucse, 
who  were  the  first  to  take  possession  of  Ceylon,  remov- 
ed Buddha's  tooth  and  all  the  treasures,  and  substituted 
a  horse's  tooth,  false  gold,  and  imitation  stones.  So 
the  Buddhists  now  are  actually  worshiping  a  horse's 
tooth.  They  only  offer  flowers,  rice,  and  fruits.  They 
believe  that  their  transmigration  depends  upon  their 
previous  life;  if  they  have  lived  virtuously  and  per- 
formed good  works,  they  will  transmigrate  into  a  wealthy 
and  great  person  ;  but  if  they  have  spent  a  wicked  life, 
and  have  done  bad  actions,  they  will  transmigrate  into  a 
poor,  deformed,  blind  person,  even  into  an  animal. 

Kandy,  or  Candy,  stands  on  the  banks  of  a  miniature 
lake,  overhung  on  all  sides  by  hills.  There  is  a  fine 
road  from  Kandy  to  the  sanitarium  of  Nucra-Iil/ias, 
fifty  miles  distant.  It  is  surrounded  by  many  coffee 
plantations.  It  has  some  bungalows.  Here  you  can 
find  every  kind  of  European  vegetables.  About  forty 
miles  north  in  the  Rajahrattc,  or  ro}'al  district,  is  Aiia- 
,  rajpaoora,  the  ancient  capital,  now  a  small  village  ; 
amongst  extensive  remains  of  buildings,  pillars,  carved 
stones,  etc.  Here  and  elsewhere  are  remains  of  dacobas 
or  temples,  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred  feet 
high,  as  old  as  JJ.C.  300.  One  called  the  Brazen  Palace, 
was  nine  stories  high,  on  1,600  pillars.  Tjie  I*>nglish 
Government  is  about  to  restore  the  great  tanks,  of 
which  there  are  several.  I  accepted  an  invitation  to 
supper  with  the  good  I'\-ithcr  Balangeri,  and  to  say 
Mass  at  his  church.  llie  pojjulation  of  Kandy  is 
10,000,  out  of  which  2,<S3S  are  Catholics.  There  are 
two  clergymen  stationed  at  Kand)',  but  they  have  to 
attend  other  churches  from  this  place.  The  churches 
near  to  Kandy  are  xisited  ever\' month,  others  at  a  long 
distance  only  twice  a  year. 


288  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

On  my  return  to  Colombo  I  found  the  bad  news  that 
the  steamer  Dakka,  on  A\hich  I  was  to  embark  for  Tu- 
ticorin,  was  lost  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel  about 
Negapatam,  therefore  I  was  obHged  to  stop  in  Colom- 
bo another  week,  till  the  Goa,  the  next  steamboat  of 
the  British-India  Steam  Navigation  Company,  would 
arrive  from  Calcutta.  At  the  hotel  I  found  two  French 
gentlemen,  who  had  been  my  fellow-companions  in 
traveling  thi'ough  China  and  the  Straits  of  Malacca; 
they  were  in  the  same  predicament  as  myself.  We 
tried  to  make  the  most  of  our  time  in  Ce)ion.  I  did 
not  like  the  bed  accommodations  at  the  hotel.  Behind 
the  bed  there  was  a  large  window,  ha\-ing  no  glass, 
according  to  the  fashion  of  the  place  ;  and  although 
there  were  large  VY^netian  blinds,  yet  there  was  much 
circulation  of  air.  To  this,  adding  that  all  the  rooms 
at  the  top  opened  into  one  common  large  hall,  it  in- 
creased the  draught  of  air  very  much.  The  hotel-keeper 
tried  to  fix  the  windows  in  the  best  wa}-  he  could  with 
blankets,  but  I  found  no  comfort  from  his  operations. 

Saturday  afterno(Mi  I  ^\■ent  to  \isit  Rew  C.  J.  B.  Fei^ 
nando,  the  zealous  pastor  of  the  Catholic  church  at 
Colombo,  Peutah.  He  received  me  as  a  father;  he 
would  not  allow  me  to  stay  at  the  hotel ;  he  wanted 
me  to  stay  with  him.  In  vain  I  remonstrated  that  I 
was  with  other  friends  at  the  hotel  ;  that  I  had  already 
engaged  a  room  during  m\-  stay  at  Cc.ilombo  ;  that  I 
intended  to  \-isit  the  island  ;  that  I  might  inci)n\-enience 
him ;  that  the  steamer  Dakka  being  lost,  I  did  not 
know  how  long  I  might  be  detained  at  Colombo;  but 
to  no  purpose.  lie  showed  nie  a  room  read\-  for  occu- 
pation, but  we  comi)romised  l)y  ni}'  stipulating  that  I 
should  return  to  the  hotel  fc)r  that  ex'ening,  and  that 
next  day,  after  celebrating  Mass,  I  should  remain  with 
him. 


COUNT  BOTTICELLI.  2S9 

In  the  morning,  at  F.  Fernando's  residence,  I  found 
his  lordship,  Rt.  Rev.  Hillarion  Sillani,  the  Vicar-Apos- 
tolic of  Colombo — a  venerable  and  apostolic-looking 
old  gentleman,  full  of  life  and  intelligence.  He  em- 
braced me,  and  said:  "  Ora  pro  me,"  ("Pray  for  me," 
that  is,  Go  to  say  Mass).  Then  turning  to  Father  Fer- 
nando, "  You  will  take  good  care  of  him,  and  bring  him 
to  Kotahcna,  to  see  our  establishment."  While  I  was 
saying  Mass,  the  good  bishop,  being  obliged  to  visit 
another  mission,  had  departed.  After  breakfast,  in 
company  of  Count  Botticelli,  I  drove  to  the  hotel,  and, 
having  settled  ni}'  bill,  I  took  my  effects  and  returned 
to  the  residence  of  Father  Fernando. 

Count  l^otticelH  belongs  to  one  of  the  principal 
families  of  Rome  ;  he  is  a  great  musician  and  a  charm- 
ing composer.  Through  political  motives  being  ob- 
liged to  quit  Italy,  he  went  to  Marseilles,  France,  where 
he  practiced  music.  A  French  lady  brought  him  a 
composition  in  verse,  which  was  to  be  sung  in  a  polit- 
ical revolutionary  meeting,  requesting  him  to  set  it  to 
music,  which  he  accomplished  in  a  short  tiine,  for 
which  he  received  four  hundred  francs,  and  an  invita- 
tion to  attend  the  meeting,  which  he  did. 

A  few  days  afterward  he  was  summoned  to  appear 
before  the  court.  He  at  once  understood  the  c.isc,  and 
made  up  his  mind  to  feign  ignorance  of  tlie  French 
language.  l)rought  before  the  judge,  he  answered  all 
internjgations  by  shaking  his  liea<l,  to  make  belie\-e 
that  he  did  not  underslancL  Tlie  judge  prescMilcd  to 
him  a  copy  of  tlie  {)octical  coni])osition  set  to  music  b)' 
him,  and  C!ount  Botticelli,  with  his  finger  running  over 
every  line  of  the  music,  expressed  ])antoniimically  that 
he  had  c<jniposed  it. 

The  judge  did  not  feel  satisfied.     He  bade  the  Count 
to  be  seated,  and  sent  for  an  Italian  to  interpret.     This 
^3 


290  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Italian  was  a  friend  of  Count  Botticelli,  and  acquainted 
with  the  affair ;  he  kept  a  saloon  where  the  Count  was 
in  the  habit  of  taking  his  meals.  The  Italian  said  that 
if  he  was  to  be  interpreter,  he  wanted  to  be  paid  a  sum 
to  be  settled  beforehand.  The  judge  asked  this  Italian 
how  much  he  would  ask  to  serve  as  interpreter  in  the 
case.  He  asked  an  exorbitant  fee — four  hundred  francs  I 
The  judge  reproached  him  for  asking  such  an  extrav- 
agant fee;  but  the  Italian  said  that  he  would  not  serve 
as  interpreter  for  less;  so  the  judge  told  him  to  go 
away  and  sent  for  another  Italian. 

Now  the  Count  Botticelli  got  up,  and  pointing  to  his 
stomach,  made  signs  to  the  judge  that  he  was  hungry, 
and,  pointing  to  his  opened  mouth,  made  indications 
that  he  wanted  something  to  cat.  The  judge,  b\-  sig- 
nals, bade  him  sit  down  and  wait. 

The  other  Italian  came,  belonging  to  the  same  estab- 
lishment, and  asked  six  hundred  francs.  The  judge  got 
angry,  and  ordered  him  away  with  bitter  remarks,  and 
sent  for  another  Italian.  Count  Botticelli  g<jt  up  again, 
and  pressing  his  stomach  with  one  hand,  and  with  the 
other  pointing  to  his  opened  mouth,  made  the  judge 
understand  that  he  was  very  hungry  and  wanted  to  eat. 
The  judge  made  signs  to  him  to  sit  down  and  wait. 

The  otherTtalian  (belonging  also  to  the  same  estab- 
lishment) came  and  asked  eight  hundred  francs.  The 
judge  got  mad,  and  sent  him  away.  Me  then  made 
Count  Botticelli  get  up,  gave  him  a  very  severe  repri- 
mand, and  asked  him,  "  Comprenez  \-ous.'"  ('"  Do  \-ou 
understand  me?")  The  Count,  shaking  his  head,  gave 
sign  that  he  did  not  know  what  was  the  matter.  The 
judge  angrily  commenced  again  to  call  him  e\  er\-  kind 
of  name,  while  the  Count  made  himself  appear  as  a 
stupid,  not  knowing  \vhat  was  the  matter  with  the 
judge.     This  farce  elicited  laughter  even  from  \.\\c  gcn~ 


I.V  COLOMBO.  291 

dariiics.  The  judge  again  asked,  '' Comprcnez  v^ous?" 
("  Do  you  understand  me?  ")  Count  Botticelli  appeared 
again  as  if  he  did  not  know  what  was  the  trouble  with 
the  judge ;  who,  having  administered  another  angry 
lecture,  sent  him  away — -Botticelli  laughing  in  his 
sleeve. 

The  Count  then  left  for  California,  and  lived  for 
some  time  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  taught  music 
and  made  considerable  money,  depositing  it  in  the 
Bank  of  California,  or  San  Francisco,  which  failed,  and 
the  unfortunate  Count  lost  his  all.  Then  he  left  for 
India,  and  having  landed  in  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  took 
up  his  residence  in  Colombo,  where  he  married  and 
resides  at  present.  lie  is  a  very  good  and  pious  Cath- 
olic ;  he  has  a  great  devotion  for  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
before  whom  he  always  keeps  an  olive-oil  lamp  burn- 
ing, day  and  night.  His  confidence  in  her  is  so  great, 
that  he  would  rather  go  without  dinner,  than  permit 
the  lamp,  burning  before  a  picture  of  the  Blessed 
Mother  of  God,  to  become  extinguished. 

I  found  the  accommodations  very  good,  except  the 
bed.  It  consisted  of  a  bedstead,  a  blanket,  and  a  pil- 
low ;  nothing  else.  I  could  not  sleep  ;  but  so(~)n  I 
remedied  it.  I  purchased  some  cotton  cloth,  sufficient 
for  two  sheets,  then,  without  cutting  or  hemming  it,  I 
laid  it  over  the  blanket ;  then  I  turned  the  other  end 
up  toward  the  pillow,  and  I  j)ut  m\-  shawl  upon  it,  and 
thus  made  a  ver\'  comfortable  bed. 

In  the  company  of  the  gO(Kl  Father  k'ernando  we 
drove  to  Kotahena,  Colombo,  where  his  lordship  re- 
sides. There  I  saw  the  large  and  magnificent  cathe- 
dral in  course  of  construction,  which,  when  finished, 
will  be  a  superb  stone  edifice.  I  visited  the  printing- 
office  belonging  to  the  Vicariate-Apost(^lic,  from  which 
two    weekly    Catholic    ne\vspaj)ers    are    issued,   one    in 


292  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

English  and  the  other  in  Sinhalese  ;  this  latter  is  edited 
by  Father  Fernando,  who  is  an  able  and  very  intelli- 
gent scholar,  besides  being  an  eloquent  preacher  in 
English,  Singalese,  Tamil,  and  Portuguese.  He  can 
also  converse  in  Italian  \ery  fluently  and  correctly.  We 
likewise  visited  the  conxent-schools  of  the  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd,  and  the  schools  of  the  Christian 
Brothers,  who  do  an  immensity  of  good  in  this  Vica- 
riate. 

In  the  afternoon  we  rode  to  Colombo,  Grand  Pass, 
where  there  are  3,Soo  Catholics  ;  from  thence  we  went 
to  Colombo,  Mutwal,  to  a  large  and  handsome  church, 
dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Baptist.  In  this  place  there 
are  6,330  Catholics.  Rev.  V.  Palla  \\as  occupied  in 
pacifying  two  parties  of  fishermen,  who  were  arrayed 
one  party  against  the  other,  in  such  a  manner  that  a 
bloody  fight  was  feared,  and  ex'en  the  bishop  had  not 
been  able  to  settle  their  trouble. 

Their  quarrel  was  this.  One  part}-  of  these  fisher- 
men A\ere  strangers,  and  had  come  expressly  to  fish  ; 
the  other  party  belonging  to  the  place,  would  not  per- 
mit the  strangers  to  come  and  thus  take  away  their 
trade,  and  refused  point  blank  to  sell  bait  to  these 
strangers.  This  was  the  cause  of  the  brawi,  and  they 
were  all  at  the  residence  of  Father  Palla,  who  had  just 
succeeded  in  inducing  them  to  come  to  terms,  and 
pacified  them  as  we  entered. 

Next  Sunday  I  preached  at  Mass.  In  the  afternoon 
there  was  a  distribution  of  premiums  for  the  Sunday- 
school  children  of  both  sexes.  The  hall  was  filled  with 
spectators,  amongst  whom  there  were  a  number  of 
principal  persons  that  had  been  invited  for  the  occasion. 
His  Lordship  presided,  and  made  me  distribute  a  large 
number  of  premiums.  Then  we  passed  into  another 
hall,  where  there  were  refreshments,  and  speeches  were 


CHOLERA.  293 

made  complimenting  the  Bishop,  Father  Fernando,  etc. 
In  the  evening  I  was  invited  to  a  formal  supper  pre- 
pared at  Father  Fernando's  residence  for  the  singers 
and  teachers  of  theCatcchisni. 

Next  da\-,  in  company  of  m\-  French  friends,  I  went 
to  see  the  interior  of  a  temple,  but  there  was  difhcult}' 
in  gaining  admission.  My  friends  applied  to  the  priest, 
who  promised  to  take  us  to  the  temple  in  the  after- 
noon. We  drove  to  his  house  at  the  appointed  time  ; 
took  him  in  our  carriage,  and  drove  to  the  temple,  but 
they  would  not  let  us  go  in  ;  we,  however,  were  allowed 
to  look  in  from  the  outside. 

Now  several  cases  of  cholera  were  reported,  not  only 
in  Colombo,  but  also  all  over  the  entire  island,  and  in 
the  north  and  west  of  Ceylon  many  deaths  had  occur- 
red. We  received  letters  from  Jaffna,  Trincomalie, 
and  other  districts,  that  the  cholera  was  spreading  there 
very  rapidl)-,  and  that  the  fatal  cases  were  numerous. 
Strict  cpuirantine  regulations  were  put  in  force  in  Co- 
lombo. Two  da)'s  afterward  several  corpses  were  found 
floating  on  the  shore  of  the  harbor  of  Colombo.  They 
were  taken,  examined,  and  were  found  to  be  coolies 
from  South  India,  dead  of  cholera.  Next  day  more 
bodies  were  found  floating  in  the  same  manner ;  next 
day  still  mc^re,  but  one  of  them  w  as  yet  alive.  The  city 
doctor,  who  every  day  went  to  the  shore  to  examine 
these  bodies,  discovering  that  this  coolie  was  dying, 
not  by  cholera,  but  by  starvation,  gave  him  some  re- 
storatives, took  him  in  his  carriage,  and  drove  him  to 
the  hospital,  but  the  poor  wretch  died  just  as  he  ar- 
rived. For  this  humane  action  the  kind  doctor  was  to 
be  discharged,  because  he  had  tal<en  to  the  hospital  a 
sick  man,  supposed  to  liavn,-  the  cholera. 

Many  opinions  ajid  stories  were  in  circulation  to  ex- 
plain how  these  corpses — victims  of  the  cholera — found 


294  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

their  way  to  the  shore  of  the  harbor  of  Colombo. 
Many  beheved  that  they  were  washed  away  from  the 
southern  coast  of  India  through  the  Gulf  of  Manaar, 
where  the  cholera  was  then  raging  ;  but  this  theory  was 
not  probable,  because  the  winds  and  currents  would 
have  carried  the  corpses  either  through  iVdam's  Bridge 
into  the  Gulf  of  Bengal,  or  into  the  Indian  Ocean. 

The  real  cause  was  that  the  bodies  had  been  thrown 
overboard  from  some  of  the  sailing  vessels  on  the  road- 
stead, which  were  in  quarantine.  These  vessels  carried 
hundreds  of  coolies  in  their  holds,  and  the  sanitary 
physician  was  every  day  visiting  each  vessel  in  quaran- 
tine to  inspect  the  cargo  of  coolies  and  crew,  and  if 
cholera  cases  were  discovered,  the  ship  was  to  be  kept 
in  quarantine  a  longer  time  ;  hence  when  some  person 
sick  with  cholera  was  discovered  on  board,  he  was 
thrown  overboard  by  the  ship's  officers  in  order  to  avoid 
detection. 

The  case  of  the  starving  man  is  this.  When  the  coo- 
lies engage  their  passage  for  Colombo,  where  they  go  to 
work  in  order  to  avoid  the  famine  in  South  India,  they 
provide  themselves  with  victuals  for  just  so  man)^  days 
as  they  calculate  the  voyage  to  last ;  hence  if  by  some 
accident  the  passage  should  be  longer,  and  the  quaran- 
tine should  extend  over  their  calculations,  the  coolies 
will  starve  and  be  thrown  overboard.  Much  fault  was 
found  with  the  English  Government,  which  allows 
coolies  to  be  taken  on  board  without  registering  their 
number  or  their  names,  just  like  cattle. 

I  felt  alarmed  by  the  cholera,  especially  when  I  found 
that  both  my  French  friends  were  taken  down  with  it 
at  the  hotel,  but,  thanks  to  God,  they  got  well  in  a  few 
days. 

During  my  stay  at  Colombo,  I  visited  the  cinnamon 
gardens,  out  of  which  340,000  pounds  of  cinnamon  arc 


CE  YL ON  ISLAND.  295 

annually  sent  to  England.  There  is  a  port  in  the  course 
of  construction,  upon  which  the  English  Government 
is  expending  ;^ 600,000.  This  is  considered  a  waste  of 
money,  because  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Ceylon  island 
there  is  the  bay  or  harbor  of  Trincomalie,  the  finest 
port  of  all  India ;  it  has  a  coast  line  of  thirty  or  forty 
miles,  with  deep  water  everywhere.  Trincomalie,  a 
town  of  9,800  inhabitants,  2,000  of  whom  arc  Catholic, 
is  built  on  a  bold  peninsula,  between  the  outer  and  in- 
ner harbor,  and  is  strengthened  at  the  entrance  of  the 
inner  harbor  by  the  batteries  of  Fort  Ostenburg,  for 
the  defense  of  the  port  and  the  arsenal. 

It  was  in  1505  that  the  Portuguese  Almeyda  by  acci- 
dent discovered  this  island  of  Ceylon  (Scilan),  and  the 
Portuguese  were  the  first  to  form  settlements,  but  in 
1603  they  were  expelled  by  the  Singalese,  assisted  by 
the  Dutch,  and  in  1795  the  English  took  possession  of  it. 
This  island  contains  19,469  square  miles,  and  lies  be- 
tween the  parallels  of  5°  50''  and  9°  50'.  The  climate  in 
the  whole  is  mild  and  healthful,  and  although  near  to 
the  equator,  the  heat  is  more  moderate  than  on  the  con- 
tinent, on  account  on  the  sea  breezes.  The  difference 
between  the  longest  and  shortest  day  is  only  fifteen 
minutes.  The  interior  of  the  country  is  rather  un- 
healthy. All  the  tropical  fruits  grow  wild  ;  the  coffee 
is  considered  one  of  the  best  berries  in  the  world.  There 
is  gold,  silver,  iron,  etc.  I'here  are  t\vcnt\'  different  kinds 
of  precious  stones,  amongst  which  are  the  famous  ca/'s 
eye,  diamonds,  etc.,  which  are  brought  down  b\'  the 
rivers  after  heavy  showers.  The  thick  forests,  v.hicli 
are  seldom  visited,  contain  numercnis  wild  beasts,  herds 
of  elephants,  leopards,  etc.  The  eastern  part  of  tlie  isl- 
and is  barren,  rocky,  and  full  of  wild  animals,  es[)ecia]Iy 
elephants.  The  pearl  fishery  on  the  western  coast,  in 
the  Bay  of  Condatch}-,  was  formerly  very  prolific. 


296  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

The  aborigines  number  about  1,500,000,  and  are  di- 
vided into  two  principal  nations,  quite  distinct  from 
each  other,  namely,  Weddas  (10,000),  a  rude  people,  liv- 
ing in  the  interior  of  the  forests,  without  any  social  order, 
agriculture,  or  cattle-raising,  but  depending  altogether 
on  the  produce  of  the  chase  for  support ;  they  are 
nearly  black,  go  naked,  and  have  no  houses  or  camps  ; 
but  the  Singalese,  who  have  attained  a  certain  degree 
of  civilization,  practice  agriculture,  work  in  iron,  gold, 
silver,  etc.  Like  the  Hindoos,  they  are  divided  into 
certain  castes,  and  each  has  its  separate  laws,  customs, 
and  dress,  and  their  religion  is  Buddhism.  The  entire 
population  of  Ceylon  is  over  2,000,000.  A  Singalese 
enabled  me  to  see  a  masterpiece  of  work  in  silver, 
which  he  had  made  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  to  Colombo.  This  was  a  silver  snuff- 
box, on  which  were  engraved,  with  great  skill,  all  the 
principal  animals,  birds,  trees,  and  plants  of  Cc}'lon. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  tried  to  purchase  it,  but  the 
Singalese  refused  to  sell  it  at  any  price. 

Apropos  of  the  visit  of  the  above-mentioned  Prince 
of  Wales  in  Ceylon,  they  related  to  me  that  he  \\  anted 
to  go  hunting  elephants  ;  but  as  this  kind  of  chase  is 
rather  laborious  and  dangerous,  and  he  was  desirous  of 
the  honor  of  killing  an  elephant,  they  dro\'e  one  into 
an  inclosure,  and  thus  the  Prince  satisfied  his  desire  in 
this  direction  by  shooting  it. 

Amongst  the  natives  of  Cex-lon  there  is  a  peculiar 
kind  of  marriage,  at  least  so  called  by  them  ;  and  it  is 
that  two  men  can  marry  one  woman,  and  li\"e  together. 
This  kind  of  polygamy  or  polyandry  is  not  found  in  an)' 
part  of  the  world  except  in  this  island;  and  although 
the  English  law  does  not  recognize  it,  }-et  it  is  practiced 
to  this  very  daw 

Besides    the    above-mentioned   natives,  there  are  in 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARIES.  297 

this  island  about  7,000  whites ;  in  addition  to  these 
there  are  Hindoos  and  Moors.  The  Hindoos  come 
from  Southern  India  to  work  in  the  coffee  plantations, 
where  they  receive  from  eight  to  twelve  cents  per  day, 
and  by  law  are  not  allowed  to  have  any  coffee  in  their 
possession,  nor  can  they  even  purchase  it ;  and  if  any 
coffee  is  found  with  them  they  are  severely  punished, 
as  it  is  considered  stolen  from  the  planters. 

The  missionaries  have  a  hard  time  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Ceylon,  and  as  there  arc  no  roads,  they  arc 
obliged  to  travel  on  stretchers  carried  by  two  coolies, 
bearing  provisions  and  the  bed.  Once  an  Italian  mis- 
sionary fell  asleep  in  a  kind  of  desert,  and  the  coolies 
becoming  frightened  by  the  cholera  and  famine,  left 
the  stretcher,  and  went  away.  The  missionary  awoke, 
and  finding  himself  alone,  left  the  stretcher  to  look 
after  the  terrified  coolies,  who  with  great  difficulty  were 
induced  to  continue  the  journey.  They  always  carry 
torches  to  put  to  flight  elephants  during  the  night.  In 
this  part  of  the  island  there  is  no  wheat,  hence  no 
bread,  which  must  be  procured  with  considerable 
trouble.  Another  Italian  missionary  has  not  used 
bread  for  four  years. 

A  gentleman,  who  a  few  years  ago  had  visited  Bos- 
ton, in  Massachusetts,  came  to  see  me,  and  in  conversa- 
tion with  several  other  persons,  related  that  when  in 
J^)()ston,  he  went  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  h'orcign- 
American  Missions,  where  an  American  Protestant 
minister,  wIkj  had  been  some  time  in  Colombo,  was 
relating  wonders  of  the  numerous  coiu'crsions  by  tlw 
A/ucrican  Church  i)i  Coloiitbo,  and  how  the  harvest  was 
very  abundant,  and  it  would  be  still  more  plentiful  if 
more  money  would  be  sent  thitlur.  This  gentleman 
could  stand  no  longer  to  listen  to  such  false  stories,  so 
he  got  up  and  refuted  all  these  lies.  He  said  that  lie 
i3* 


298  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

had  attended  some  of  the  meetings  at  the  American 
chapel  in  Colombo,  and  declared  that  the  number  of 
attendants  was  so  small  that  they  had  decided  to  close 
the  meeting-house  for  good,  after  the  death  of  the 
present  minister,  who  being  very  old,  was  allowed  to 
remain  there  for  his  support. 

Colombo,  the  capital  of  the  island,  has  a  population 
of  120,000  inhabitants,  about  17,000  of  whom  are  Cath 
olic.  It  stands  on  a  peninsula,  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  the  sea.  The  new  buildings  within  the  fortifi- 
cation are  of  a  handsome  European  architecture.  The 
modest  dwellings  of  the  Dutch  and  Portuguese  are  out- 
side. The  houses  of  the  Singalcse,  Tamils,  Moors,  and 
Malays  are  generally  of  whitewashed  mud,  covered 
with  tiles,  or  thatched  with  the  plaited  fronds  of  the 
cocoanut  palm  ;  this  only  in  the  ancient  quarter  called 
PcttaJi,  or  Blacktown,  extending  to  the  banks  of  the 
Kelangganga,  a  small  river.  Nearly  all  the  rivers  here 
in  dry  weather  are  of  no  account,  but  very  dangerous 
in  the  rainy  season  ;  the  natives  living  in  other  quar- 
ters vie  with  Europeans  in  their  dwellings. 

The  entire  island  is  divided  in  two  Vicariates-Apos- 
tolic,  Colombo  and  Jaffna.  It  is  surprising  to  see  the 
number  of  conversions  that  take  place  every  week. 
Eathcr  Eernando  told  me  that  if  they  had  missionaries 
enough,  the  entire  island  would  be  Catholic,  but  with 
their  present  number  they  can  onl\'  attend  the  existing 
Catholics,  except  those  that  come  forward  of  their  own 
accord.  In  the  year  1876  there  were  340  converts  from 
heathenism,  and  \20  from  Protestantism.     Truly — - 

'^  j/tssis  qit'uL'nt  niiiltii,  opcrari  autein  paitci" 
("The  harvest  is  large,  but  ihe  workmen  are  few.") 

The  steamer  Coa  was  expected  on  the  iCth  of  Janu- 
ary, but  did  not  arrive  till  the   17th,  and  after  a  cordial 


A  GAIN  A  T  SEA .  200 

farewell  to  the  good  bishop  and  kind  Father  Fernando, 
accompanied  by  numerous  friends,  together  with  my 
French  friends,  I  embarked  for  Tuticorin  on  the  steamer 
Goa,  which  stood  far  out  in  the  roadstead,  as  there  is 
not  yet  a  proper  harbor,  and  at  7  P.M.  steamed  up  for 
the  continent  of  India.  The  sea  was  rather  rough,  and 
as  the  waves  across  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  were  striking 
the  boat  sideways,  I  suffered  very  much  from  sea-sick- 
ness. The  next  afternoon  we  sighted  Tuticorin ;  at  3 
P.M.  the  Goa  anchored  in  the  roadstead,  and  we  were 
transferred  to  a  very  large  but  inconvenient  and  dis- 
agreeable kind  of  boat,  about  4|  P.M. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

TUTICORIN — MADURA— TRICHINOPOLY — TANJORE. 

To  form  an  idea  of  this  transfer  boat,  you  must  -call 
to  your  mind  Charon's  crazy  craft  for  ferrying  the  souls 
of  the  dead  over  the  dark  flood  of  Acheron.  Like  the 
souls  to  be  carried  over  the  Styx,  we  were  actually 
leaping  from  the  Goa  into  this  boat,  as  there  were  no 
accommodations  to  do  otherwise,  and  the  swells  were 
frequent.  An  old,  black-looking  man  of  gloomy  aspect, 
having  no  garments  except  a  belt  round  the  loins,  whom 
we  could  mistake  for  Charon,  standing  on  the  edge  of 
the  boat,  was  sternly  watching  the  waves,  and  A\'hen  he 
discovered  a  good  chance  he  made  a  sign,  and  all  leaped 
into  his  boat,  minus  deck,  chairs,  and  benches,  but  we 
prostrated  ourselves  pell-mell  over  some  freight,  and 
over  the  limbs  of  others  ;  one  of  my  legs  was  used  as  a 
pillow  by  a  woman,  while  my  head  was  leaning  over  the 
elbow  of  another  passenger,  and  so  on.  We  were  all  very 
sea-sick,  therefore  incapable  of  moving;  our  faces  were 
ghastly,  and  of  death-like  pallor.  Charon  stood  at  the 
helm  and  directed  a  lateen  sail  for  nearly  four  miles, 
and  when,  in  a  pitiless  manner,  he  came  to  collect  the 
fare  (a  rupee  each),  which  the  passengers  had  j)repared 
beforehand,  and  which  they  tendered  him  in  a  doleful 
manner,  amidst  the  groans  of  others,  I  trul\-  imagined 
that  I  was  in  the  boat  of  Charon  crossing  the  St\'x, 
dreaded  even  by  the  immortals.  However,  as  now  and 
then  we  were  profusely  splashed  by  the  waves,  which 
(300) 


MORE  TROUBLE. 


301 


sent  a  liberal  quantity  of  spray  into  the  boat,  it  made  me 
reflect  that  it  could  not  be  the  Styx  after  all.  About 
^yi  P.M.,  more  dead  than  alive,  we  arrived  at  Tuticorin, 
where  we  experienced  another  difficulty  in  landing 
on  account  of  no  proper  accommodations  to  disembark. 

Hailing  from  Ceylon,  there  was  no  inspection  of  bag- 
gage by  the  customs  officers.  I  and  my  French  friends 
took  our  luggage  to  the  railroad  station,  and  I  requested 
the  station-master  to  check  mine  directly  for  Trichino- 
poly,  in  order  not  to  be  burdened  by  it  on  the  way  to 
that  town  ;  but  when  I  went  to  pay,  the  station-master 
refused  to  receive  paper  money  from  the  Bank  of  Co- 
lombo, saying  that  it  was  not  current  in  India,  and  the 
nearest  place  to  change  it  was  Madras,  where  there 
was  a  branch  of  the  Bank  of  Colombo.  The  treas- 
urer of  that  bank  offered  me  specie,  but  what  a  burden 
it  would  have  been  to  me  to  carry  rupees  in  sufficient 
quantity  till  my  arrival  at  Madras.  Gold  is  not  current 
in  India,  and  is  only  a  merchandise.  However,  I  had 
inquired  from  the  treasurer  whether  that  paper  was  re- 
ceivable in  India,  and  he  had  assured  me  that  it  was. 
Yet  I  did  not  feci  embarrassed^  because  I  had  had  the 
precaution  to  carry  with  me  some  gold,  which  is  a\'ail- 
able  under  nearly  every  circumstance. 

Here  another  trouble  came  to  confuse  mc.  There 
was  no  hotel,  and  we  could  not  leave  Tuticorin  before 
morning  at  eleven.  There  is  a  law  in  India,  that  at  an\' 
railroad  station  where  there  is  no  hotel  nor  bungalow, ■• 
the  master  is  obliged  to  keep  the  station  o])en  even  en- 
tire days  for  the  accommodation  of  l',uro])can  passen- 
gers, and  t(j  provide  food  and  beds,  as  good  as  the  place 
can  afford,  for  which  the  [)asscngers  must  pa\- according 


*  Bungalow,  the  kind  nf  hiuisc  in  which  luiropcan  ncntk-incn  live 
or  stop  temporarily  in  India.  iJun^alows  arc  like  larg<-,  siiLiare, 
Uiatchcd  or  tiled  collages  of  a  single  lloor. 


30^ 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


to  a  printed  list  of  prices ;  the  station  is  free.  My 
friends  had  been  informed  that  a  night's  lodging  could 
be  obtained  at  a  certain  Mr. 's,  but  for  me,  I  had  re- 
solved to  ask  the  hospitality  of  the  missionary  fathers, 
whose  residence  and  church  were  close  to  the  station. 
We  passed  by,  and  saw  two  venerable  and  smart-look- 
ing personages  walking  in  the  inclosure  of  the  church. 
They  wore  a  white  cassock  fastened  round  the  waist 
with  a  red  belt,  and  having  on  their  heads  a  red  bar- 
rette  (cap).  "  Here  are  two  cardinals  !  "  my  friends  ex- 
claimed. "  Oh,  no  !  "  I  replied,  "  there  are  no  cardinals 
in  India."  "  But  do  you  not  observe  them  wearing  red 
caps? — is  not  that  a  distinctive  privilege  of  cardinals?" 
"  So  it  is,  but  as  the  Pope  has  granted  permission  to 
them  to  dress  in  white  cassock,  which  is  peculiar  to 
the  Pope ;  and  this  permission  was  granted  on  account 
of  the  burning  sun  and  extreme  heat  of  Southern  India, 
so  also  for  some  other  reason  he  has  extended  the  priv- 
ilege to  wear  red  caps  to  others  than  cardinals."  "  Oh, 
what  expense  and  trouble  must  it  cost  to  send  red  caps 

to  Cape  Comorin  !"  replied  my  friends.  "  We  have 

read  in  the  Ga::ctte  that  some  noble  personage  was  dis- 
patched from  Rome  with  a  box  containing  a  red  cap 
across  the  ocean  to  give  it  to  a  cardinal  in  America ;  I 
remember  the  description  of  that  great  ceremony  and 
solemnity  that  took  place.  Oh,  what  an  immense  crowd  ! 
....  Now,  my  friend,  what  burden  and  expense  must 
it  be  to  these  poor  missionaries  who  are  obliged  to  travel 
in  the  marshes  and  wilderness  of  Cape  Comorin,  and 
carry  with  them  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  even  the  bed 
to  sleep  in  ;  to  submit  to  all  those  things  I  "  "  Would 
not  another  color  do  as  well  ?  "  "  My  friends,"  said  I, 
"  you  confound  the  investiture  to  the  dignity  of  cai'dinal- 
sJiip  with  a  simple  permission  to  wear  a  red  cap."  .... 
Here  we  were  at  the  gate  of  the  missionary  residence. 


THE  PLAGUE  OF  ANTS.  303 

My  friends  proceeded  further  in  order  to  secure  a  lodg- 
ing for  the  night,  promising  to  meet  me  next  day  at  this 
place,  and  I  entered  the  modest  house  of  the  fathers, 
who  received  mc  with  great  kindness,  and  cordially 
offered  their  hospitality,  which  I  was  very  glad  to  accept. 

While  they  were  preparing  supper,  I  was  shown  my 
room,  furnished  with  a  table,  chair,  and  bedstead,  cov- 
ered with  a  simple  blanket,  a  pillow,  but  no  mattress, 
and  a  candle.  There  is  no  need  to  mention  that  in  India 
and  the  Strait  Settlements  everything  is  made  of  stone 
or  bricks,  nothing  of  wood,  not  even  the  floor,  because 
the  white  ant — this  formidable  scourge  of  India — pene- 
trates into  every  chink  and  crevice  of  the  walls,  and 
into  all  wooden  trunks,  except  those  made  of  campJwr- 
ivood.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  open  a  wardrobe 
and  to  find  everything  covered  with  masses  of  these 
destructive  beings. 

Father  L.  Verdier  was  the  Superior,  and  there  were 
two  other  missionaries,  G.  Pouget  and  C.  Dairiander, 
besides  a  lay  brother  in  charge  of  the  school.  After 
supper  I  visited  the  church,  which  is  of  a  good  size 
Latin  cross,  with  three  naves.  The  abundance  of  mos- 
quitoes made  me  dispense  with  light. 

After  my  Mass,  we  took  breakfast.  I  changed  some 
sovereigns,  and  my  French  friends  soon  made  their  ap- 
pearance, complaining  very  much  that  the\'  could  not 
sleep  on  account  of  the  bugs.  One  of  the  missionaries 
accompanied  us  to  visit  the  town.  lie  pointed  to  us 
near  the  church  a  place  where  they  had  located  a  large 
stone  statue  of  Buddha,  which  had  been  found  b\-  dig- 
ging in  a  street.  The  nati\cs  going  to  church  were 
bowing  to  this  statue  every  time  that  they  passed  by. 
The  fathers  fearing  that  these  natives,  or  some  of  them, 
might  get  the  notion  that  in  the  church  thc\-  were  wor- 
shiping Buddha,  requested  the  town  authorities  to  re- 


304 


A    TOCK  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


move  the  statue  to  some  other  place.  We  saw  this 
statue,  and  it  was  of  good  workmanship,  but  very  much 
defaced.  Tuticorin  has  notliing  worth  seeing  except  a 
small  temple.  The  population  is  ic.6oo,  and  it  is  called 
a  port,  and  the  only  port  of  Cape  Comorin.  Cotton, 
rice,  and  cocoanuts  are  grown.  The  Cootallum  I-^alls 
and  pearl  fisheries  are  from  thirt}' to  forty  miles  distant. 
Receiving  a  hearty  farewell  from  those  good  fathers, 
at  1 1  A.^[.  (Madras  time  for  all  India)  we  started  b)'  rail- 
road for  Madura. 

The  countr\-  along  the  road  is  \cry  ilat  and  uninter- 
esting. (3nly  once  or  twice  we  had  a  view  of  the 
Ghauts. "'•■  There  were  fields  of  cotton,  rice,  tobacco  ; 
also  palm-trees.  The  land  was  rich,  but  it  presented  a 
lamentable  appearance  for  want  of  rain,  which  had  not 
fallen  for  two  years,  hence  a  terrible  famine  was  pre- 
vailing all  over  Southern  India;  no  x'cgetation  of  any 
consequence  could  be  seen  ;  cattle  were  ch'ing  every- 
where, and  the  yellowish  and  sicl<l}-  a]:)pearancc  of  trees 
gave  sufficient  indication  that  the\-  were  perishing  for 
want  of  water.  Many  half-starved  natives  were  seen 
hard  at  work  digging  wells,  and  being  scorched  by  the 
perpendicular  rays  of  a  blazing  Southern-Indian  sun, 
under  no  other  shelter  than  that  of  a  metallic  sky.  Who 
had  the  courage  to  refuse  thcni  a  copper  or  some  food, 
when  at  the  stations,  crowding  round  the  cars,  they  were 
begging  in  a  piteous  manner  for  something  to  eat  ?  The 
distress  compelled  them  to  feed  on  unwholesome  food 
and  every  kind  of  trash  that  they  could  get  hold  of  in 
order  to  satisfy  the  powerful  clamors  of  their  empty 
stomachs.     This  naturally  increased  the  already  exist- 


*  Ghauts  is  an  Indian  word  generally  supposed  to  mean  a  range  of 
mountains  ;  as  the  "Western  Ghauts."  Tliis  is,  however,  a  mistake. 
A  ghaut  is,  properly,  a  mountain-pass  ;  sometimes,  also,  a  flight  of 
steps  down  to  a  river. 


ST.  FRANCIS  XA  VIER. 


505 


ing  cholera  to  such  an  extent,  that  it  carried  away  half 
the  population  of  many  towns,  cities,  and  districts.  It 
was  not  very  pleasant  to  travel  through  this  land  under 
such  appalling  circumstances. 

At  12.17  l'--^l-  ^^^  were  at  Maniachi  Junction,  about  six- 
teen miles  from  Tinnevelly,  a  finely-built  town,  near  the 
south  corner  of  the  peninsula,  below  the  east  and  west 
ghauts,  having  a  population  of  21,000  inhabitants. 
Three  miles  farther  south-west  is  Palamcoitah,  or  Pali- 
anikota,  a  town  of  18,000  people.  These  towns  are  all 
connected  by  railroad.  Cape  Comorin,  at  the  further 
end  of  India,  is  about  sixty  miles  distant  ;  a  low,  sandy 
point,  marked  by  an  old  Dutch  church,  some  ancient 
temples,  and  a  fort.  Its  name  is  derived  from  Kiiuiari, 
the  maiden  name  of  the  goddess  Diirga.  The  ghauts 
end  one  and  a  half  miles  from  it,  after  falling  to  2,000 
feet  within  twenty  miles.  At  the  cape  they  are  build- 
ing two  light-houses.  In  this  picturesque  native  State 
of  Travancor,  or  Tirjivankodu,  on  the  Malabar  coast, 
about  14,000  acres  are  planted  with  coffee.  Slavery 
was  abolished  in  1853.  This  is  one  of  the  first  fields 
where  St.  Francis  Xavier  worked  for  the  salvation  of 
these  poor  fishermen,  and  the  most  of  the  population  is 
Catholic,  and  fervently  Catholic  to  this  day.  Here  is 
the  verification  of  the  promises  of  Christ  to  the  apos- 
tles :  *' 7:7  fructjis  Tester  uiaiwat,'"  (And  the  fruit  of 
your  work  will  remain).  With  truth  St.  Francis  Xavier 
is  styled  "  Apostle  of  India."  The  Maharajah  Rama 
W'arma  lives  in  Tri\-andram  (or  Trivandrum\  where 
there  are  3,100  Catholics.  In  Travancor  there  are  14,000 
Catholic  .S)Ti<'uis  ;  there  are  also  Jews,  Moors,  Arabs, 
and  ver\'  few  Protestants. 

Along  the  route  we  passed  many  pagodas  of  differ- 
ent size,  having  sfjuarc  court-yards  of  different  dimen- 
sions.   Statues  of  horses  lined  the  inside  of  the  walls  or 


3o6  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

fences,  all  turned  toward  the  pagodas,  doing  obedi- 
ence or  adoration  to  the  idol  inside ;  hence  these  statues 
were  only  lining  three  sides  of  the  yard  ;  in  other  yards, 
they  were  disposed  only  along  the  sole  side  facing  the 
pagoda ;  sometimes  in  two,  three,  four,  etc.,  rows,  but 
always  facing  the  pagoda.  In  some  yards,  instead  of 
horses,  there  were  statues  of  soldiers,  and  in  others  sol- 
diers on  horseback,  disposed  in  the  same  manner,  and 
turned  toward  the  pagoda.  These  soldiers  had  refer- 
ence to  wars  in  very  ancient  times,  belonging  to  the 
age  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  Turanian-Hindoo 
race,  before  the  Hindoo-Brahmin  race  intruded  into 
India.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  turn  again  to  this  sub- 
ject. 

In  some  places  we  passed  circles  of  stones,  colored 
red  beneath  and  white  above,  to  represent  fire,  and  with 
one  stone  outside,  as  if  for  a  sentinel.  He  is  the  chief 
of  the  Pis/iachas,  or  fiends,  and  the  stones  are  supposed 
to  be  part  of  the  fiend  army  he  commands.  This  is 
Vetal's  worship,  to  whom  generally  is  offered  a  rooster, 
whose  blood  is  presented  in  a  vessel,  that  Vetal  may 
smell  it,  and  be  satisfied.  Vetal  has  no  images  or  tem- 
ples, but  he  is  worshiped  in  the  aforesaid  manner. 
We  passed  some  round  stones  tipped  with  red  lead  ; 
they  represented  the  god  Mhasoba,  extensively  wor- 
shiped by  the  cultivators  in  the  Deccan. 

The  conductor  of  the  train  asked  us  whether  we 
wanted  any  dinner  at  Madura,  and  what  we  wanted  ; 
we  were  only  six  second-class  passengers,  and  joined 
together  to  order  our  dinner,  and  the  conductor  tele- 
graphed the  station-master  of  Madura  to  prepare  it,  and 
have  it  ready  on  our  arrival  ;  but  as  the  train  would 
not  proceed  any  further,  and  we  intended  to  stop  there, 
we  were  not  particular.  In  India  there  are  four  classes 
in  the  train ;  the  second-class  costs  only  half  the  price 


DINNER.  207 

of  the  first,  and  it  is  very  good,  cushioned,  etc.,  and  the 
cars  are  according  to  the  European  fashion.  The  ar- 
rangement about  the  baggage  is  most  abominable.  All 
baggage  going  in  the  van,  must  be  weighed  and  paid 
for,  for  which  a  receipt  is  given  ;  but  passengers  may 
carry  with  them  in  the  cars  as  much  as  they  can,  and 
as  they  generally  take  with  them  even  the  bed  for  the 
night  travel,  you  can  easily  see  that  they  nearly  always 
fill  the  cars  to  their  utmost,  and  in  such  a  manner  that 
often  there  is  no  room  to  stretch  the  feet.  It  is  true 
there  are  proper  regulations  for  baggage,  but  who  de- 
mands their  enforcement?  These  regulations  can  be 
said  to  exist  only  on  paper.  At  six  P.M.  we  were  at 
Madura.  No  hotel,  no  bungalow  ;  therefore  we  had  to 
stop  at  the  station  and  make  the  best  of  it.  It  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  we  could  obtain  water 
to  wash  our  burning  and  dusty  faces  and  hands.  One 
basin  was  all  that  could  be  obtained,  in  which  one  after 
the  other  could  perform  his  ablutions,  yet  we  got  two 
towels  to  wipe  our  faces ;  but  our  handkerchiefs  were 
to  be  called  into  action  at  the  ablution's  work  and  at 
the  dinner-table. 

Dinner  was  served  at  the  station  by  native  men,  be- 
cause native  women  do  not  do  anything  for  Europeans, 
believing  themselves  to  become  defiled  by  coming  in 
contact  with  an  inferior  caste,  which  the}-  consider 
the  Europeans  to  be.  We  found  the  dinner  very  good, 
but  a  great  share  of  our  praise  was  due,  no  doubt,  to 
our  empty  stomachs.  There  is  a  printed  list  of  prices 
under  the  regulations  of  the  Government,  and  they  are 
very  reasonable.  Night  was  approaching;  how  and 
where  should  we  sleej)?  Under  this  mild  climate  of 
South  India,  it  is  by  no  means  uncomfortable  to  sleep 
on  the  floor,  or  to  lie  on  the  platform,  sub  diu. 


308  A    TOUR  IiV  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

"  Dal  solo  covcrta  gran  vianto  del  cielo" 
("  Covered  only  by  the  great  mantle  of  the  sky.") 

ZiNGARELLA. 

Beware  of  sleeping  uncovered  in  the  light  of  the  full 
moon  ;  it  produces  sore  eyes,  and  is  as  much  to  be 
guarded  against  as  standing  in  the  middiiy  sun.  This 
explains  the  meaning  of  the  text,  "  The  sun  shall  not 
burn  thee  by  da)%  nor  the  moon  by  night."  Last  week 
two  nuns  were  obliged  to  pass  the  night  seated  on 
chairs.  My  companions  slept  on  the  floor  in  the  station  ; 
one  of  them  succeeded  in  getting  the  loan  of  a  mat- 
tress, for  which  he  paid  a  shilling.  I  preferred  to  sleep 
in  one  of  the  cars  K'ing  on  the  track. 

In  the  morning  I  had  the  good  luck  to  get  a  basin, 
with  some  water  to  wash,  which  a  woman  lent  to  mc. 
I  shaved  and  finished  m\'  ablutions,  using  my  handker- 
chief for  a  towel.  Aly  companions  were  in  trouble  in 
not  finding  water  nor  basin,  but  as  I  had  already  got  in 
the  good  graces  of  this  woman,  I  succeeded  in  getting 
water  for  them,  and  the  use  of  the  same  basin.  After 
breakfast,  taken  in  the  station,  we  went  together  to  see  the 
city.  We  proceeded  first  to  the  residence  of  the  priest  to 
gain  some  information  about  the  remains  of  the  famous 
Hindoo  university,  founded  about  500  A. l».  by  the  Pand- 
yan  kings  (kings  of  Ptolem}-'s  Regis  Pafidionis)  of  the  fine 
Choultry,  I^agoda,  etc.,  but  the  priest  was  absent,  and 
we  found  onh' a  la\- brotlier,  wlio,  after  sex'eral  incpiirics 
made  of  him,  appeared  to  be  a  perfect  iinioramus. 
Left  to  our  own  resources,  we  soon  found  the  wa\'  to 
the  king's  palace.  The  da\'  was  extremly  liot,  and  we 
were  not  able  to  go  about  on  foot.  My  companions 
went  to  see  the  Hindoo  priest,  while  I  was  cndeax'cjr- 
ing  to  find  a  carriage  for  all,  and  we  arranged  to  meet 
at  the  king's  palace.  Our  strange  appearance  natu- 
rally attracted  a  few  gentlemen  round  us,  and  learning 


THE  KING'S  PALACE.  309 

the  object  of  our  visit  in  Madura,  suggested  to  send  for 
Mr.  Scott,  an  educated  and  accomplished  EngHsh  gen- 
tleman. Fortunately,  his  son  was  present,  and  sharing 
the  accomplishment  of  his  father,  tendered  his  assistance 
to  accompany  me  to  the  king's  palace,  while  another  gen- 
tleman had  gone  for  Mr.  Scott.  He  tried  to  hire  for  us  a 
double  team  carriage,  but  it  was  not  possible  ;  hence  we 
were  compelled  to  be  satisfied  with  a  two  bullocks' 
cart. 

At  this  time  my  companions  and  Mr.  Scott  had  ar- 
rived. The  entrance  to  this  most  magnificent  structure 
of  the  fifth  century  was  on  the  front,  but  it  has  been 
walled  up  on  account  of  being  in  such  a  dilapidated 
condition.  The  Hindoos  objected  to  open  another  en- 
trance on  the  same  side,  hence  an  opening  was  effected 
at  another  side  by  cutting  the  wall.  This  palace  is  in  a 
ruinous  condition,  but  I  understand  that  the  English 
Government  is  going  to  repair  it.  This  fine  Choultry 
{Hall)  and  pagoda,  enlarged  by  Trimal  Naik,  a  munifi- 
cent Rajah  (whose  seventeenth  century  palace  is  here), 
is  built  of  granite,  333  feet  by  82  feet,  on  128  stone  pil- 
lars, in  1623-45,  at  the  cost  of  a  million  sterling,  to 
serve  as  an  entrance  to  the  great  pagoda  or  temple  of 
Minakshi,  which  covers  twenty  acres,  and  has  nine 
tower-like  gates  ten  stories  high.  It  has  also  a  tank  of 
the  Golden  Lotiis^^'  so  called  from  the  golden  bench  on 
which  candidates  for  degrees  used  to  sit.  I  measured 
the  pillars :  they  are  six  yards  round,  and  arc  disposed  in 
three  rows  on  all  four  sides;  the  inside  rows  hax'ing 
shorter  pillars  ;  but  of  tlie  same  width.  Trimal  Naik's 
palace  contains  a  great  Saracenic  Hall,  with  a  dome 
ninety  feet  across,  where  the  judge  holds  a  court. 


*  Lohis.     Some  say  that  it  is  the  Lingam.     In  the  chapter  on  the 
religion  of  the  Hindoos  I  will  explain  the  meaning  of  these  idols. 


3IO 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


Mr.  Scott,  who  was  our  kind  guide,  showed  us  the 
king's  bed-room,  that  is,  where  Trimal  Naik  used  to 
sleep.  "This  room,"  said  Mr.  Scott,  ''was  built  large 
and  high  by  order  of  the  king.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  the  king  was  afraid  of  being  robbed  of  his  jewels 
during  the  night,  hence  he  slept  with  all  his  jewels  on, 
and  caused  his  bed  to  be  lifted  to  the  ceiling  every 
night,  and  then  lowered  to  the  floor  every  morning.  A 
person,  however,  made  a  hole  in  the  roof,  and  one  night 
took  away  the  jewels  from  his  person.  The  king  was 
quite  surprised  at  it,  and  very  much  grieved,  but  the 
person  who  had  taken  them  away  returned  them  in  the 
morning,  saying  that  he  had  done  it  to  show  that  the 
jewels  could  be  stolen  from  him,  even  from  the  bed 
raised  to  the  ceiling.  The  king  made  him  prime 
minister." 

The  walls  of  the  Choultry  and  of  the  king's  palace 
were  ornamented  with  well-executed  sculptures  in  alto- 
relievo,  and  paintings  by  masterly  hands.  W'c  passed 
into  the  Great  Temple,  or  rather  a  cluster  of  temples  ; 
it  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  monuments  of  Plindoo 
architecture,  with  four  gigantic  porticoes,  each  sur- 
mounted with  a  pyramid  of  ten  stories.  Mahadcva, 
under  the  mystic  form  of  the  lingani,  is  the  principal 
object  of  adoration.  One  temple  has  a  square  of  over 
thirty  massive,  colossal  columns  on  each  of  the  two 
sides,  and  it  has  a  nave  and  two  side  aisles.  Each  pil- 
lar has  a  life-size  stone  statue  of  the  Hindoo  gods  and 
animals,  all  well  executed  in  granite.  The  figures  rep- 
resented are  all  naked. 

We  passed  into  another  temple  having  one  thousand 
stone  pillars.  We  counted  them,  and  found  this  to  be 
the  number.  The  guide  called  to  me,  "  Do  you  see  that 
statue  of  a  man  carrying  a  woman  riding  across  his  right 
shoulder  ?  this  represents  jealousy ;  it  is  a  man  jealous 


THE  BELL  Y-GOD. 


311 


of  his  wife,  earning  her  always  on  his  shoulder."  While 
I  admired  the  curious  manner  of  representing  jealousy, 
I  remarked  that  it  was  a  great  punishment  for  that  vice. 
What  a  hard  task  for  that  unfortunate  husband  to  carry 
his  wife  continually  on  his  shoulder ! 

While  we  were  observing  one  part  of  the  inside  of 
this  immense  temple,  in  another  part  they  had  prepared 
the  sacred  elephants,  three  gigantic  brutes,  ornamented 
in  the  Oriental  costume,  and  marked  in  their  foreheads 
with  the  signs  of  the  idol  to  which  they  were  conse- 
crated. The  riders,  dressed  in  their  sacred  uniform, 
holding  an  arrow  in  their  hands  to  guide  the  animals, 
had  taken  their  position  on  the  top  of  them,  ready  to 
make  the  elephants  compliment  us  at  our  return  from 
this  part  of  the  temple.  Unaware  of  all  this,  and  leis- 
urely emerging  from  this  sombre  locality,  we  were  sur- 
prised to  find  ourselves  fronting  these  enormous  ani- 
mals disposed  in  a  row.  Soon  the  temple  resounded 
with  their  roaring  and  terrifying  voices,  w'hich  was  in- 
creased by  the  echo  returning  from  another  temple 
connected  by  a  large  tank.  They  slowly  advanced  to- 
ward us,  knelt  and  made  a  bow  to  us ;  they  rose  and 
commenced  to  roar  tremendously,  still  advancing,  and 
when  their  trunks  were  too  near  to  us,  we  thought  bet- 
ter to  keep  at  a  safe  distance. 

Our  guide  ushered  us  into  a  kind  of  sacred  treasury, 
where  the  life-size  statue  of  the  Belly-God,  made  of 
solid  silver,  was  kept.  This  idol  was  represented  in  a 
sitting  position,  and  having  an  extraordinarily  large  bel- 
1)'.  A  large  and  hca\-y  base  very  artistically  elabo- 
rated in  solid  silver  was  kept  in  the  same  place  ;  it  is  in- 
tended to  support  the  idol,  wlien  in  some  fest!\-als  it  is 
carried  in  procession  through  the  streets.  Outside  in 
the  porch  we  saw  a  large  and  solid  wagon  for  holding 
the  statue  for  the  procession.     Hundreds  of  Plindoos 


312  A    TOUR  IN  BO  Til  HEMISPHERES. 

pull  it  on  that  occasion.  Formerly  some  fanatic  de- 
votees stretched  themselves  on  the  streets  in  order  to 
be  run  over  by  this  wagon,  believing  if  they  were  killed 
they  would  go  immediately  to  heaven,  and  if  they  were 
maimed  or  hurt,  it  was  considered  an  honor,  and  a  very 
meritorious  action,  and  entitled  to  a  great  reward  in 
heaven.  At  present  the  English  Government  allows 
the  procession,  but  does  not  permit  the  wagon  to  run 
over  an\-  person. 

In  the  sanie  place  there  was  a  life-size  statue  of  a 
horse  of  solid  silver.  We  saw,  also,  four  large  candle- 
sticks covered  with  laminre  of  pure,  solid  gold,  and  a 
platform  covered  in  the  same  manner.  One  long  pillar 
covered  with  laminre  of  gold  was  so  high  that  the  roof 
of  the  temple  had  to  be  perforated  in  order  to  let  the 
candlestick  pass  through  it ;  you  can  see  the  top  of  it 
from  the  outside.  One  of  these  temples  had  the  top 
(the  outer  part)  covered  with  lamin;e  of  pure,  solid 
gold.  It  was  hardly  possible  to  fix  the  eyes  on  this 
top  of  the  temple,  and  pillar  co\'ered  with  gold^  when 
reflecting  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

We  repaired  to  the  large  tank  surrounded  by  pillars, 
and  having  a  temple  in  it.  The  guide  conducted  us 
into  the  sacred  part  of  the  temple,  where  the  high- 
priest,  who,  when  he  was  made  acquainted  with  our 
presence,  came  to  meet  us  at  the  gate,  holding  crowns 
of  flowers  to  crown  us.  The  others  allowed  themselves 
to  be  crowned,  but  I  had  a  scruple  about  this,  lest  it 
might  be  a  religious  act  of  idolatry  toward  us,  or  an 
investment  to  a  pagan  religion.  i\I\-  guide  told  me 
that  it  was  nothing  else  but  an  act  of  respect  and  honor 
offered  on!}-  to  Rajahs,  and  to  other  persons  of  great 
rcs])ectabilit\-.  Yet  it  did  not  satisfy  me.  I  accepted 
the  crown  of  flowers  at  his  hands,  but  I  did  not  allow 
him  to  put  it  on  my  neck.     The  guide  remonstrated, 


A  SACRED  DANCE.  313 

saying  that  it  might  be  construed  as  an  insult.  I  com- 
promised matters  by  putting  it  on  my  neck  with  my 
own  hands.  Of  course  we  were  obhged  to  pay  a  shil- 
Hng  as  a  fee  for  the  coronation,  or  for  the  cost  of  tlie 
flowers.  The  pillars  around  the  tank  and  the  corridors 
were  all  frescoed,  the  frescoes  representing  idols,  animals, 
kings,  horses,  trees,  etc.  In  one  of  the  courts  of  the  tem- 
ple are  painted  the  sixty-four  incarnations  of  Vishnu.'" 
These  paintings  being  in  a  very  dilapidated  condition 
were  repaired  by  the  liberality  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
in  his  x'isit  to  India  two  years  ago. 

In  the  center  of  the  great  temple  there  was  a  very 
small  temple  of  highl}'-polishcd  black  granite,  where 
once  the}'  held  judgment.  This  small  temple  at  pres- 
ent is  worshiped  in  once  a  year.  W'e  were  allowed  to 
sec  e\'er\'thing,  but  only  permitted  to  enter  two  places, 
which  were  esteemed  as  very  sacred.  They  were  very 
dark  ;  a  lamp  was  burning  in  them,  and  flowers  and 
rice  were  placed  on  a  kind  of  altar.  In  another  small 
temple  of  highh'-polished  black  granite,  they  showed 
us  three  rings,  one  fitting  into  the  other,  made  of  one 
and  the  same  piece  of  stone,  without  separating  the 
stone  from  the  block  from  Avhich  the}'  were  made,  and 
wliich  forms  a  part  of  the  small  temple. 

\ <.)V\  ma}'  imagine  our  discomfort  in  riding  in  a  bul- 
lock's cart,  which  had  no  seat,  but  on!}'  straw,  on  which 
we  were  (jbliged  to  lie  down,  holding  on  the  cart  b}' both 
hands,  lest  we  should  slide  down  on  the  street,  \\'hich 
was  near  ha])pening  sexnTal  times  while  we  were  gf>ing 
to  \-isit  the  Hindoo  ancient  buildings. 

In  the  afternoon  we  were  going  to  M'itness  a  sacred 
dance    in    the    tem[)le   b}-    the  sacred    daiicini^\c^irls    at- 


*  Vishnu  is  the  s'-coiid  jic-rson   of  tli"  Trimiirti.  the   Trinity  of  the 
Vcdas,  in  the  Hind^jf)  mythology. 
14 


314 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


tached  and  belonging  to  this  temple.  We  had  bar- 
gained for  it  with  the  priest  for  fourteen  rupees.  At 
the  appointed  time  we  repaired  to  the  temple,  where 
we  found  the  priest — a  venerable,  but  hard-looking 
man— and  three  sacred  dancing-girls,  dressed  in  full 
costume.  They  wore  too  much  drapery.  They  had 
silk  trowsers  of  the  gayest  colors,  edged  and  trimmed 
with  gold  lace  ;  rich  anklets  encircled  the  legs  ;  the  toes 
are  absolutely  covered  with  rings  ;  and  a  large,  broad 
silver  chain  is  passed  across  the  foot.  A  tunic  of  rich 
satin  is  worn  over  the  trov/scrs,  most  elaborately  trim- 
med with  gold  borders  deeply  fringed  ;  in  dancing  the)- 
perform  pantomimes  and  present  very  picturesque 
figures,  but  they  are  very  modest,  and  keep  time  to  the 
music  of  some  native  sacred  musicians  performing  on 
the  native  drums,  such  as  the  tabla,  dlioluk,  and  niiin- 
jccra.  The  dancing  was  monotonous.  I  do  not  think- 
that  these  sacred  dancers  belong  to  the  class  of  the 
Mcerasccns  (which  signifies  inJicritrcss,  from  the  habit  of 
whole  families  never  changing  the  set),  who  perform 
dances  at  the  native  marriage  festivals ;  because  some 
of  these  females  constitute  the  Indian  social  evil. 

Many  natives  had  gathered  to  witness  the  sacred 
dance.  The  officers  of  the  temple  tried  to  keep  them 
off;  they  had  even  closed  and  covered  the  windows  to 
prevent  the  natives  from  peeping  in  ;  but  in  s})ite  of 
them,  now  and  then  there  was  a  rush,  which  the  offi- 
cers were  unable  to  prevent.  After  the  dance  one  of 
my  companions  took  a  sketch  of  the  sacred  dancing- 
girls,  to  which  they,  their  parents,  and  priest  consented. 
In  order  to  have  a  better  view  for  sketching  one  of 
them,  my  companion  \\as  tr}'ing  to  turn  her  on  one 
side,  but  before  he  could  lay  his  hand  on  her,  she  sud- 
denly withdrew,  while  the  priest  and  sacred  (officers 
rushed    forward     alarmed,    saying,    "  Don't,    don't ! " 


MADURA.  315 

"Don't  what?"  asked  the  sketcher.  "These  girls 
being  sacred,"  said  the  priest  and  officers,  "  can  not  be 
touched,  they  would  be  polluted."  I  believe  that  they 
only  meant  that  they  could  not  be  touched  by  an 
European,  who  is  considered  to  belong  to  the  most  in- 
ferior caste. 

While  my  companions  were  taking  sketches  of  these 
dancing-girls,  I  went  to  sec  the  old  Portuguese  church, 
perhaps  the  church  where  St.  Francis  Xavicr  had  offici- 
ated. It  was  a  very  small  chapel,  hardly  capable  of 
containing  one  hundred  people.  It  was  in  a  very  ruin- 
ous condition  ;  the  roof  was  off ;  and  the  four  windows 
had  neither  sashes  or  shutters,  and  I  do  not  know,  nor 
did  the  sexton  know,  whether  these  windows  ever  had 
any  sashes  or  shutters.  The  small  sanctuary  had  been 
walled  up,  and  a  door  had  been  placed  for  entry,  in  ad- 
dition to  another  door  at  the  side  of  the  sanctuary, 
which  leads  to  the  small  graveyard,  which  is  likewise  in 
a  very  dilapidated  state.  I  went  to  sec  the  Portuguese 
missionary,  but  he  was  absent,  yet  I  was  permitted  to 
see  the  house,  which  by  no  means  did  credit  to  the 
place.  I  understood  that  the  Archbishop  of  (ioa  was 
expected  to  visit  it,  and  that  he  intended  to  give  it  up 
to  the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Madura,  and  the  sooner  the 
better.  St.  Francis  Xavier  was  nc\'cr  furtlicr  up.  It  is 
certain  that  he  was  never  in  Tricbinopol}-,  but  he  was 
only  on  the  coast  of  Cape  Comorin,  Tuticorin,  Xcgapa- 
tam,  etc.,  along  the  coast  where  Portuguese  merchants 
used  to  resort  in  order  to  trade  with  the  natives. 

Madura  is  an  old,  but  clean  place,  on  the  river  Vigah 
or  Vigay,  with  a  population  of  52,000,  chiefly  Tamil- 
speaking  (including  Dindigul),  about  9,000  of  whom  are 
Catholic.  Good  scarlet  dye  table-cloths,  napkins,  etc., 
are  made  here.  The  Aligherry  Hills,  4,219  feet  high, 
are  to  the  south-west  coast,  and  although  in  this  direc- 


3i6  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

tion  runs  the  river  Pcrryaur,  yet  its  water  is  borrowed 
for  irrigating  purposes,  and  to  increase  the  volume  of 
the  Vigay,  running  cast.  The  native  state  of  Poodoo- 
cottah,  or  Rajah  Tondiman's  territory,  is  forty  miles 
down  the  river,  containing  much  rock,  jungle,  and  in- 
numerable tanks.  The  Rajah  is  the  recognized  head  of 
the  Kanniah  or  Thief  caste.  At  Trichinopoly  the  Bishop 
warned  us  to  keep  a  good  lookout  on  our  baggage,  and 
everything  belonging  to  us,  because  we  were  among 
the  greatest  thieves  of  India,  who  make  a  profession  of 
robbing,  and  form  a  distinct  caste. 

The  capital  of  this  Rajah  and  head  of  the  Thief  caste 
is  a  fine  town,  with  a  palace  surrounded  by  jungle. 
About  seventy  miles  further,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
is  the  sacred  island  of  Rameshwaram  (the  Lord  Ravici), 
dedicated  to  Rama,  separated  from  the  mainland  by  a 
narrow  strait,  across  which  stretches  a  line  of  rocks 
called  Adani  s  Bridge.  Rama,  seized  with  compunction 
for  the  slaughter  of  the  Brahmins  in  his  wars,  here  set 
up  the  holy  lingain.  Next  day,  at  5.30  A.M.,  we  started 
for  Trichinopoly. 

We  were  at  Dindigul  at  8.30  A.^r.,  a  town  of  13,000 
inhabitants,  forty  miles  north  of  Madura,  and  twenty 
miles  east  of  the  Palnai  Hiils,  an  isolated  range,  7,364 
feet  high  at  Mount  Permaul,  being  higher  than  anything 
else  south  of  the  I  limaku'as.  Along  the  road  we  passed 
many  pagodas  of  different  sizes,  having  \'ards  surround- 
ed with  stones,  statues  of  soldiers,  horses,  etc.,  just  as 
described  on  the  road  from  Tuticorin  to  Madura. 

■The  conductor  had  telegraphed  to  the  station-master 
at  Trichinopoly  to  have  dinner  ready  for  us  on  the  arri- 
val of  the  cars.  Ten  minutes  before  one  P.M.  we  were 
at  Trichinopoly. 

In  Singapore  and  Ceylon  I  had  made  inquiries  about 
the  affair  of  the  Malabar  Catholics,  who  have  been  ca- 


THE  MALABAR  CA  THOLICS. 


317 


lumniated  as  being  Schismatics.  The  quarrel  was  be- 
tween the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Verapoly  of  the  Latin  Rite, 
and  Bishop  Melius  of  the  Syro-Chaldean  Rite.  I  was 
informed  by  high  authorities  in  India,  that  the  trouble 
was  about  temporalities.  The  Catholics  of  India  are 
generally  poor,  but  those  of  Malabar  are  somewhat 
wealthy.  ^Moreover,  the  churches  of  Manikodc  and 
Chittatur  in  Malabar  are  in  possession  of  property  which 
is  administered  in  favor  of  those  churches.  The  Malabar 
Catholics  belong  to  the  Syro-Chaldean  Rite,  and  have 
always  been  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Armenian 
Patriarch  at  Bagdad,  who  claims  this  right  by  many 
Pontifical  bulls,  although  on  some  occasions  pastors  have 
been  appointed  by  Latin  Bishops. 

Unfortunately,  l^ritish  law  was  appealed  to  for  the 
possession  of  the  Manikodc  and  Chittatur  churches. 
Suits  had  been  brought  in  the  Cochin  and  Calicut  Sub- 
Courts  respectively,  and  were  both  called  up  to  the  Dis- 
trict Courts,  the  one  directly,  and  the  other  after  a  decis- 
ion adverse  to  the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Verapoly.  They 
appealed,  and  the  sentence  was  reversed.  (See  Bombay 
Catholic  Examine?',  January  27,  1877).  The  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  Bombay,  Rt.  Rev.  Leo  Meurin,  was  com- 
missioned from  Rome  (at  least  it  was  said  so)  to  settle 
the  case,  but  Melius  would  not  listen  to  him.  Meurin 
presented  his  credentials  from  Rome,  and  Melius  a  bull 
from  Rome  to  the  Patriarch  of  l^agdad.  They  re- 
proached each  other  wath  having  forged  papers.  Meu- 
rin became  very  bold,  and  wanted  to  show  authority 
over  Melius,  threatening  to  excommunicate  him,  and  if 
I  remember  well,  affixed  an  interdict  or  excommunica- 
tion to  the  church  of  Melius;  Melius  could  not  stand 
that,  but  told  Meurin  tf)  go  about  his  business,  that  he 
had  nothing  to  do  in  the  Syro-Chaldean  Rite.  Meurin 
challenged  Melius  to  a  public  dispute,  each  to  prove  the 


31! 


A    TCUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


validity  of  his  papers.  Melius  replied  to  him  that  he 
(Melius)  did  not  recognize  in  Meurin  any  authority,  and 
did  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with  him.  Rome 
having  heard  of  this  unfortunate  state  of  affairs,  sent  a 
delegate,  who  peacefully  and  satisfactorily  settled  this 
matter  in  Malabar.  There  are  some  Syro-Chaldean 
Rite  Catholics  belonging  to  the  Archbishop  of  Goa. 
The  history  how  the  Syrian  Rite  was  introduced  into 
this  part  of  India  is  as  follows :  According  to  an 
old  tradition,  corroborated  by  historical  testimonies, 
the  Christians  of  Malabar  consider  St.  Thomas  as 
the  first  apostle  of  their  country.  Some  years  after  the 
establishment  of  the  Christian  religion,  a  furious  perse- 
cution arose,  during  which  all  the  priests  and  a  large 
number  of  the  faithful  were  put  to  death,  and  for  a 
long  time  this  flock  remained  without  a  shepherd.  The 
Patriarch  of  Babylon  (j^^^rtfai^)  having  been  informed  of 
the  miserable  state  of  the  congregation,  sent  thither, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Holy  Sec,  two  Bishops  of 
the  Chaldean  Rite,  who  supplied  the  churches  with 
pastors,  and  set  aright  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  that 
country.  In  the  time  of  this  trouble  there  were  thirty- 
five  priests  and  twenty-two  churches  under  Bishop 
Melius'  jurisdiction.  Perhaps  all  the  Catholics  of  the 
Syro-Chaldean  Rite  will  be  united  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Patriarch  of  Babylon.  Much  has  been  said 
against  Bishop  Melius,  but  he  was  in  l^ome  and  present 
at  the  CEcumenical  Council  at  the  Vatican,  celebrated 
under  Pius  IX.,  and  subscribed  to  all  the  acts  of  that 
Council. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

rRICHINOPOLY — LOSS  OF  MY  BAGGAGE — GREAT  TEMPLE  AT  SERINGHAM 
— MY  BAGGAGE  FOUND  AT  NEGAPATAM — TANJOR — GREAT  TEMPLE- 
CROWNED  WITH  FLOWERS  BY  THE  RAJAH  —  RAJAH'S  PALACE  — 
MADRAS. 

At  Trichinopoly  I  looked  for  my  baggage.  The 
station-master,  called  Baboo  (from  Babu),  which  is  the 
name  of  the  of^ce,  and  not  of  the  person,  a  native  of 
the  place,  and  dressed  in  the  Oriental  manner,  asked 
for  my  check,  which  was  a  written  paper.  He  read  it, 
looked  at  the  baggage-room,  but  my  baggage  was  not 
there.  He  called  the  baggage-master  and  inquired  of 
him  about  my  valise  and  hat-case,  the  only  two  pieces 
sent  ahead,  and  clearly  specified  in  my  check.  I  v.'as 
extremely  surprised  to  hear  from  the  baggage-master 
that  my  baggage  had  been  delivered  to  the  owner; 
here  he  produced  a  duplicate  of  my  check  from  the 
station-master  at  Madura,  asserting  what  he  said  ;  but 
this  declaration  being  not  found  on  my  check,  the 
baboo  said  that  the  duplicate  check  from  Madura  was 
of  no  value,  because  it  was  not  found  in  my  check.  He 
promised  to  telegraph  to  Tuticorin,  Madura,  and  to 
other  stations  on  the  line,  giving  the  description  of  my 
valise,  etc. 

My  companions  also  had  a  little  difficulty.  At  Tri- 
chinopoly there  are  three  stations,  Trichinopoly  Fort, 
Trichinopoly  Junction,  and  Trichinopoly  Station  ;  their 
baggage  had  been  sent  to  Trichinopoly  Fort,  while  we 

(319) 


320  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

were  at  Trichinopoly  Station,  yet  it  was  easily  arranged. 
There  was  a  bungalow  about  half  a  mile  distant;  my 
companions  after  dinner  went  thither,  and  engaged  also 
a  room  for  me,  as  I  could  not  go  with  them  on  account 
of  my  trouble  with  my  baggage.  This  being  the  center 
of  the  Thief  caste  (they  are  the  Ramusi  tribe  belonging 
to  the  caste  of  the  Thugs,  who  believe  their  robberies 
and  murders  to  be  under  the  protection  of  a  deity), 
and  the  natives  robbers  by  profession,  I  felt  very  uneasy, 
and  quite  embarrassed,  yet  my  most  necessary  papers, 
banker's  letters,  and  money  were  with  me,  and  in  a 
traveling-bag  I  had  what  was  needed  for  a  short  stay. 
After  eating  very  little,  I  went  to  the  bungalow,  and 
having  hired  a  carriage,  I  rode  to  see  the  great  pagoda 
and  other  antiquities.  !My  companions  had  already 
started  in  another  carriage. 

The  temple,  on  the  top  of  a  high  rock,  is  ascended 
first  by  sixteen  flights  of  stairs,  some  cut  into  the  rock, 
and  joined  together  by  long,  dark  corridors,  with  now 
and  then  niches  and  small  temples  dedicated  to  idols. 
Tired  of  ascending  so  man)-  long  flights  of  steps,  we  ar- 
rived (Ml  the  outer  part  of  the  rock.  Assisted  by  three 
natives,  I  ascended  as  far  as  practicable  for  me,  because 
the  rock  had  become  steep  and  smooth,  and  fearing  a 
turning  of  my  head  on  the  descending,  I  determined  to 
do  as  I  did  in  ascending  Cheops  p\-ramid  in  Egypt,  that 
is,  to  descend,  notwithstanding  the  remonstrances  of 
m}'  guide.  The  fort  is  tw(j  miles  round,  on  a  granite 
rock,  six  hundred  feet  above  the  Cauvery,  and  holds 
the  ruined  palace  of  the  Nabr)b  of  the  Carnatic  ;  the 
citadel  and  jail;  the  Tyamanasawmy  pagoda  on  a  road 
three  hundred  feet  high;  tank,  etc. ;  and  a  mosque  to 
Chanda  Sahib,  who  figured  in  the  wars  between  Clive 
and  the  French,  1751-5.  Besides  a  pagoda  at  W'ar- 
rore,    about    five    miles    from   Trichinopoly,    there    are 


SERINGHAM. 


321 


two  temples  on  the  island  of  Seringham,  between 
the  Cauvery  and  Coloroon,  one  of  which  is  at  the 
center  of  a  vast  space  composed  of  seven  square  in- 
closures,  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  each  other, 
so  that  the  outer  one  extends  nine  hundred  and  sixty 
by  eight  hundred  and  twenty-live  yards.  Each  inclos- 
ure  has  a  high  gate  tower  in  the  middle  of  each  side. 


1  i:.\;ri.K  at  sekinciiam. 


There  were  rnanv  cii^raxiuj^s  in  alto-rclicvcj  of  naked 
men  and  women,  and  twelve  of  them  arc  so  obscene 
that  I  pass  them  cner. 

C(jnnecte{l  with  this  temple  there  is  another  having 
a  thousand  ])illars  in  the  same  manner  as  that  at  Ma- 
dura,  but  the  jiillars  are  not  so  well  executed.  They 
have  also  life-size  statues.  Inside  these  colossal  gates 
there  are  colossal  statues  of  idols  called  Pious  (docjr- 
14* 


322  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

keepers).  We  then  passed  to  see  the  pagoda  of  God- 
monkey ;  a  beautiful,  middle-sized  temple  of  highly- 
polished  marble,  and  having  several  neat  pillars  of  the 
same  material.  There  were  many  monkeys  of  different 
sizes,  not  only  confined  in  the  temple  and  portico,  but 
all  over  the  country  around,  and  even  on  the  gates  of 
the  large,  magnificent  temple.  The  keeper  asked  some 
money  to  purchase  food  to  call  the  monkeys  together 
in  order  that  we  should  see  them. 

Having  returned  to  the  town  I  went  to  the  station 
to  see  about  my  baggage  ;  the  station-master  told  me 
that  he  had  received  returns  from  nearly  all  the  stations 
on  the  line,  but  my  baggage  could  not  be  found.  I  said 
that  the  company  should  pay  for  it,  and  I  stated  the 
value  of  it ;  yet  you  may  imagine  my  anxiety  and  em- 
barrassment in  being  deprived  of  my  baggage,  where  I 
had  many  little  things  which  I  needed  in  my  travels, 
besides  the  collection  of  curiosities  which  I  had  gath- 
ered. The  station-master  told  me  to  go  to  the  agent  of 
the  line  and  lodge  a  formal  complaint.  The  office  of 
the  agent  was  at  the  station,  and  it  was  pointed  out  to 
me  by  the  station-master. 

Entering  the  office  I  found  a  tall  and  gentlemanly- 
looking  Englishman,  and  I  lodged  my  complaint  with 
him,  to  whom  I  presented  my  check.  He  sent  for  the 
baggage-master,  who  ga\"e  him  the  tluplicate  from 
Madura,  with  the  mark,  '"Delivered  to  the  partyy 
Comparing  it  with  mine,  and  finding  no  such  mark  in 
that  belonging  to  me,  he  sent  for  the  station-master, 
and  said  to  him,  "  Is  this  mark  in  the  check  in  the 
hands  of  the  baggage-master,  and  not  found  in  that  be- 
longing to  this  gentleman,  of  any  value?"  ''There  is 
no  value  in  it,"  replied  the  station-master,  "  because 
the  same  should  have  been  put  also  in  the  other  check." 
The  agent  took  a  description  of  my  baggage,  aijci^prom- 


TANJOR.  223 

ised  to  make  inquiries  immediately,  and  if  not  found 
the  company  would  settle  for  the  loss. 

I  did  not  wish  to  be  detained  in  Trichinopoly,  where 
the  cholera  was  making  fearful  ravages,  and  I  made  up 
my  mind  that  if  my  baggage  could  not  be  found,  and 
the  company  would  not  settle  immediately,  I  would 
leave  this  matter  to  be  settled  at  Madras  with  the 
American  consul.  I  returned  to  the  bungalow,  where 
I  found  my  companions.  For  next  day,  we  arranged 
an  excursion  to  Tanjor  to  sec  the  antiquities,  and  the 
great  temple  in  that  place. 

Next  morning  we  drove  to  Trichinopoly  Junction, 
from  which  place  a  train  was  to  leave  for  Tanjor.  At 
the  station  I  received  the  welcome  news  that  they  had 
heard  of  my  baggage — through  mistake  it  had  been 
sent  to  Negapatam — and  that  in  the  evening  it  was 
expected  in  Trichinopoly.  This  news  relieved  me  very 
much,  and  I  was  glad  that  I  was  not  to  be  detained  in 
this  place,  where  the  cholera  was  doing  great  havoc 
amongst  the  people,  and  that  I  could  continue  my 
journey  with  my  friends. 

We  were  at  Tanjor  at  three  minutes  after  8  A.M. 
The  distance  from  Trichinopoly  is  only  thirty  miles. 
At  the  station  we  were  informed  that  the  Rajah  with 
his  wife,  belonging  to  the  old  line  of  the  Mahratta 
Rajahs,  descending  from  Seevajec,  were  expected  about 
noon  from  Delhi,  where  they  had  been  in  order  to  at- 
tend the  declaration  of  Victoria,  Queen  of  England,  as 
Empress  of  India ;  and  as  great  preparations  were 
made  for  their  reception,  wc  determined  to  witness  this 
great  Oriental  ceremony. 

Without  losing  time  wc  repaired  to  the  two  forts 
containing  one  of  the  best  temples  in  Southern  India. 
This  temple,  or  pagoda,  is  of  fourteen  stories,  200  feet 
high  and  82  feet  square,  with  a  black  granite  bull  in 


324 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


front,  the  palace  and  a  tank.  The  old  college  is  also 
famous  for  Indian  learning. 

Fearing  lest  we  should  lose  this  great  and  unexpected 
occasion  of  seeing  the  Rajah,  we  soon  returned  to  the 
station.  They  had  constructed,  with  tents  of  different 
colors  and  ornamented  in  the  Oriental  style,  a  kind  of 
square  room,  from  the  railroad  track  to  the  station,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  people  from  looking  at  the  royal 
family,  because  this  is  strictly  forbidden.  In  the  other 
side  of  the  station,  that  is,  in  the  back,  there  was  the 
Rajah's  carriage  and  horses  equipped  in  grand  state 
fashion  to  convey  their  majesties  to  their  palace.  In 
addition  to  a  few  mounted  British  soldiers,  there  were 
native  troops  on  camels  and  elephants,  magnificently 
ornamented  in  Eastern  costume.  Large  crowds  of  na- 
tives were  waiting  under  a  scorching  sun.  Flags,  palm- 
trees,  and  limbs  of  some  peculiar  Indian  vegetation, 
also  added  to  the  general  effect,  and  the  whole  scene 
was  really  new  to  us,  and  very  imposing. 

While  walking  around  the  outside  of  the  station  and 
gazing  with  an  observing  eye,  I  received  an  invitation 
from  his  Excellency  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the 
Governor  of  the  Madras  Presidency,  who  was  present, 
to  be  one  of  the  party  to  receive  the  Rajah.  I  said 
that  I  was  in  company  with  two  friends,  and  I  re- 
quested that  the  invitation  should  be  extended  to 
them  also,  which  was  immediately  granted.  We  thanked 
the  Governor,  and  entered  the  reception-room  tempo- 
rarily erected  of  canvas  between  the  station  and  the 
rails.  It  was  tastefully  ornamented ;  the  floor  was 
covered  with  a  fine  carpet,  the  sides  were  decorated 
with  various  ornaments,  and  there  were  a  few  chairs  and 
tables  placed  on  two  sides.  A  similar  room  had  been 
also  erected  on  the  opposite  part  of  the  station,  through 
which  the  royal  family  was  to  enter  the  carriage.     Be- 


TKMn.K    A  I      lANJoK. 


/  THE  RAJAH'S  RECEPTION.  325 

tween  these  two  temporary  rooms  there  was  a  passage 
through  by  the  station.  In  the  reception-room,  besides 
the  Governor,  there  were  two  other  gentlemen  and  two 
ladies. 

The  whistle  of  the  approaching  train  was  heard, 
which  was  a  special  one  for  the  use  of  the  royal  family 
only.  Every  one  rushed  to  his  place,  bugle-horns  gave 
notice  to  dromedaries  and  elephants,  and  officers  took 
position  at  the  extremities  of  these  temporary  rooms, 
holding  the  canvas  tight  to  the  walls  of  the  station, 
while  others  went  to  the  other  end  to  hold  it  tight  to 
the  car,  lest  some  one  should  peep  in  and  take  a  forbid- 
den look  at  the  royal  family.  The  train  arrived  ;  the 
Governor  told  us  not  to  remove  the  hat,  as  it  was  con- 
trary' to  the  etiquette  at  Oriental  courts. 

At  a  given  signal,  the  Governor  opened  the  royal 
car,  and  assisted  the  Rajah,  with  two  grown  boys,  to 
alight.  The  Rajah  closed  the  door  of  the  car  again  ; 
his  wife  remained  in  the  car.  The  Governor  intro- 
duced me  to  the  Rajah,  who  shook  hands  with  me, 
then  my  two  companions,  with  whom  he  did  the  same. 
The  Rajah  was  a  middle-sized,  stout  man,  of  brown 
color ;  intelligent,  good-looking,  and  spoke  English 
well.  His  rich  Oriental  dress  gave  him  an  additional 
attraction.  He  wore  on  his  head  a  white  silk  kind  of 
tiara,  highly  embroidered  in  gold  and  set  in  precious 
stones  ;  over  the  wide  trousers  of  white  silk  ornamented 
with  elegant  gold  broidery,  he  had  an  extremely  rich 
tunic  of  white  satin,  highly  embroidered  in  gold  and 
spangled  with  innumerable  diamonds,  whose  splendor 
dazzled  the  eye  ;  the  white  silk  shoes  were  also  em- 
broidered in  gold,  spangled  with  diamonds  ;  they  were 
long  and  terminated  in  stockings.  He  wore,  also,  white 
silk  gloves  embroidered  in  gold. 

After  the  usual  welcome  on  both  sides,  the  Rajah  in- 


326 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


troduced  the  two  boys  to  me,  saying:  "See  these  two, 
you  think  that  they  are  boys,  but  they  are  girls — my 


nieces."     I  looked  at  them  with  surprise,  but  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  was  at  my  right,  turning  to  me,  said  :    "  Yes, 


THE  AUTHOR  CROWNED.  227 

sir,  they  are  girls ;  "  and  while  I  was  shaking  hands  with 
them,  the  Rajah  explained :  "  I  have  dressed  them  in  boy's 
attire  for  the  evil  eyes.  I  took  them  with  me  to  Delhi 
to  be  present  at  the  coronation  of  Victoria,  Empress  of 
India,  and  I  was  obliged  to  protect  them  from  evil  eyes." 
Here  the  Rajah  showed  us  the  gold  medal  sent  by  the 
Queen  of  England,  the  belt  and  cross,  and  a  few  more 
presents.  He  showed  also  the  likeness  of  Lord  Lytton, 
who  had  represented  the  Empress  Victoria  at  Delhi. 
After  some  conversation  with  the  Rajah  and  his  nieces, 
who  were  simply  but  neatly  dressed,  and  who  must  have 
been  at  the  age  of  thirteen  and  fifteen  years,  the  Gov- 
ernor requested  us  all  to  retire  into  another  room.  In 
this  room  his  Excellency  explained  to  us  that  the  Ra- 
jah's wife  was  to  alight  from  the  car  and  pass  through 
the  station  into  the  other  temporary  room,  and  enter 
the  carriage.  No  person  was  allowed  to  sec  her  except 
those  of  the  same  caste  and  religion.  Here  the  Gov- 
ernor ushered  us  into  the  other  temporary  room,  where 
we  found  the  Rajah  and  nieces  standing,  but  no  sight 
of  his  lady.  After  another  short  conversation,  some 
pages,  richly  dressed  in  the  Oriental  costume,  presented 
to  the  Rajah  a  solid  silver  tray,  in  which  there  were 
some  crowns  neatly  made  with  various  elegant  flowers. 
The  Rajah  took  one  of  them,  approached  me,  bowed 
down,  and  endeavored  to  put  it  on  my  head,  but  my 
broad-brimmed  Panama  hat  was  an  (obstacle  to  my  cor- 
onation, so  I  was  obliged  to  remove  it  to  give  to  his 
Majesty  the  chance  to  crown  me,  thus  creating  me  an 
Indian  nobleman.      He  did  the  same  to  the  others. 

llure  another  page,  dressed  in  the  same  Oriental 
style,  brought  to  him  another  silver  tray  containing 
sweetmeats  wrapped  in  betel  leaves  ;  the  Rajah  took 
the  tray  and  advanced  toward  me.  I  was  afraid  to  eat, 
fearing  that  lime  or  something  noxious  might  be  con- 


328  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

tained  in  them.  It  is  customary  with  the  Hindoos  to 
chew  areca-nuts,  mixed  with  a  little  shell  lime  folded  in 
betel  leaves;  but  his  Excellency  standing  by,  whispered 
to  mc,  "  Only  touch  them,"  and  so  I  did,  and  the  others 
did  the  same.  The  Rajah  having  invited  us  to  visit  his 
palace,  bowed  profoundly,  and  entered  the  carriage. 
Here  there  was  a  great  sight.  Camels,  elephants, 
horses,  soldiers,  and  the  crowd  formed  a  grand  proces- 
sion, the  like  of  which  I  had  never  witnessed  before, 
marching  in  grand  Oriental  manner,  accompanying  the 
royal  family  to  their  palace.  We  were  gazing  with 
open  eyes  fixed  on  that  procession,  but  soon  a  cloud 
of  dust  concealed  it  from  our  sight ;  yet  the  sound 
of  drums  and  bugle-horns  was  heard  for  some  time, 
till  growing  fainter  and  fainter,  it  faded  altogether 
from  us. 

All  this  unexpected  pageantry  seemed  to  me  like  a 
dream,  and  I  thought  that  I  was  dreaming  about  some 
of  the  Arabian  nights,  but  looking  at  myself  with  a 
largc-brimried  Panama  hat  full  of  dust,  a  long  and  not 
the  best  cleaned  white  duster,  my  white  collar  wet  and 
stained  with  perspiration,  a  satchel  strapped  across  my 
shoulders,  and  an  elegant  wreath  of  flowers  suspended 
from  my  neck,  hanging  on  my  breast,  moved  mc  to 
hearty  laughter.  If  an  artist  had  been  present,  I 
would  have  had  a  photograph  taken,  and  I  assure  you 
it  would  have  been  very  interesting,  and  it  would  have 
moved  to  laughter  a  great  many  people,  even  if  they 
were  in  the  very  worst  kind  of  mood. 

We  thanked  the  Governor  for  his  kindness  ;  he  prom- 
ised to  send  a  notice  to  the  officers  of  the  British  and 
native  troops,  and  to  all  other  officers,  to  admit  us  into 
every  part  of  the  royal  palace. 

Now  we  went  to  dinner,  which  wc  had  ordered  at  the 
station.    We  had  good  appetites,  and  having  purchased 


THE  MAHRATTA  RAJAHS.  329 

ice  in  abundance,  enjoyed  our  dinner  very  much.  Soon 
after,  we  made  our  way  to  the  royal  palace.  We  entered 
first  the  gardens,  which  were  well,  worth  a  visit.  The 
arrangement  of  the  walks,  the  variety  and  peculiarity  of 
flowers,  the  strange-looking  trees,  the  statues,  fountains, 
and  seats,  reminded  me  of  the  Persian  stories.  These 
gardens,  by  a  wide  alley,  led  to  a  great,  massive,  arched 
stone  door,  strongly  guarded  by  armed  English  soldiers, 
who  objected  to  admit  us,  but  being  told  that  we  were 
invited  by  the  Rajah,  and  an  officer  immediately  ap- 
pearing, who  said  that  his  Excellency  the  Governor  had 
sent  a  notice  to  this  effect,  they  presented  arms  to  us, 
and  we  proceeded.  Passing  through  long,  wide,  wind- 
ing, and  dark  corridors,  we  came  to  another  massive 
door,  like  the  one  mentioned  above,  and  it  was  guarded 
by  native  armed  soldiers,  who  presented  arms  without 
any  remark.  We  went  through  many  other  dark  and 
winding  corridors,  and  finally  we  found  at  our  right  an 
open  door  leading  to  a  side  apartment,  where  we 
found  the  Major-domo,  seated  at  a  large  desk,  who  got 
up,  welcomed  us,  and  sent  with  us  a  guide,  to  whom  he 
gave  some  keys.  We  proceeded  still  further,  and  ar- 
rived at  a  large  square  yard  surrounded  by  high  stone- 
walls on  three  sides  ;  the  front  side  had  no  wall,  and  by 
some  fine  steps,  having  a  row  of  stone  pillars  leading  to 
a  [)ortico.  This  was  the  Rajah's  palace.  The  portico 
extended  to  about  eight  or  nine  yards,  but  running  the 
full  breadth  of  the  first  yard  had  another  row  of  stone 
pillars.  These  pillars  divided  the  exterior  from  the  in- 
terior apartment,  A\'hich  was  a  little  larger.  The  inte- 
rior apartment  terminated  in  three  or  four  large  al- 
coves in  the  middle,  but  on  both  sides  of  these  were 
large  rooms,  which  were  locked.  This  palace  had  been 
repaired  by  Father  Nobili. 

In  the  yards  there  were  tanks,  stone  seats,  and  statues 


330       '        A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

of  idols.  In  the  exterior  apartment  there  were  some 
chairs,  and  one  or  two  tables.  The  walls  were  decorated 
with  portraits  of  ancestors  of  the  line  of  Mahratta 
Rajahs,  and  facts  concerning  their  history.  In  the  in- 
terior apartment  was  the  house  furniture,  a  library,  a 
sofa,  and  an  old  discordant  piano.  The  Rajah,  who 
died  in  1832,  was  a  poet  and  musician,  and  spoke  En- 
glish and  French.  The  walls  were  ornamented  with 
sketches  and  other  pictures.  The  guide  opened  those 
rooms,  which  were  locked,  and  we  saw  a  large  number  of 
arms  of  very  ancient  times,  and  in  another  room  the  state 
robes  of  centuries  and  centuries  ago,  worn  by  the  Rajahs 
of  this  Statc^ — tiaras,  belts,  ensigns,  etc.,  all  embroider- 
ed in  gold  and  set  in  valuable  stones.  The  description 
of  these  things  in  detail  would  occupy  an  entire  chapter, 
and  would  task  the  patience  of  my  reader  too  much. 
We  saw  the  silver  bed  and  sofa  of  very  ancient  date, 
etc.  The  time  approaching  for  the  train  to  lca\'e  for 
Trichinopoly,  we  spoke  of  starting.  The  guide  pre- 
sented us  with  a  book  in  whicli  to  A\ritc  our  names. 
There  we  found  the  name  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  of 
several  other  distinguished  visitors.  In  putting  my 
name  I  wrote  "native  of  Gallipoli,  Itah',  but  residing  in 
Eastport,  State  of  Maine,  United  States  of  America." 

Having  given  a  present  to  our  kind  guide,  we  re- 
turned to  the  station,  and  at  6.30  P.^r.  we  arrived  at 
Trichinopoly.  We  all  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  learned 
Vicar-Apostolic,  Mr.  F.  Alexis  Canoz,  who  resides  here, 
and  who  gave  us  valuable  and  very  judicious  informa- 
tion ;  amongst  other  matters,  he  advised  us  to  look  out 
for  our  valises,  because  we  were  amongst  professional 
thieves.  He  invited  us  to  su[)per,  but  we  excused  our- 
selves, as  next  day  we  intended  to  start  for  Madras, 
and  we  had  only  a  short  time  to  see  what  remained 
worth  visiting  in   Trichinopoly.      He   showed    us   his 


TANJOR.  331 

house  and  chapel,  in  which  we  observed  some  fres- 
coes, made  by  a  native  from  ideas  given  to  him  by 
a  missionary;  one  fresco  representing  the  landing, 
preaching,  baptizing,  and  martyrdom  of  the  first  mis- 
sionaries;  then,  accompanied  by  Father  J.  Joyce,  an 
Englishman,  we  visited  the  church,  which  was  of  stone, 
large,  having  three  naves,  supported  by  short,  but 
massive  stone  pillars.  This  church  belongs  to  the  na- 
tive Catholics,  who  number  1 1,000,  but  it  is  used-also  by 
the  British  soldiers,  to  whom  Father  Joyce  is  the  chap- 
lain. Benches  and  mats  arc  put  in  only  when  the  sol- 
diers are  to  occup\-  it. 

Tanjore  (or  Tanjor,  or  Tanjawur)  is  a  city  of  52,200 
inhabitants,  and  is  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
same  name  in  the  Carnatic  province,*  and  it  is  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  Cauvery.  The  land  is  rich  and  well- 
cultivated.  The  city  is  well  fortified.  Silk,  cotton,  and 
muslin  are  made.  Vast  ricc-ficlds  cover  the  delta  of  the 
Cauvery,  the  waters  of  which  are  navigated  by  boats 
made  of  basket-work  and  leather ;  but  this  and  last 
year  the  rice-fields  were  as  dry  as  dust,  on  account  of 
the  distressing  drought,  which  has  lasted  for  two  years, 
and  the  metallic  sky  gives  no  sign  of  rain,  thereby 
causing  a  great  famine,  and,  in  consequence,  fevers  and 
other  diseases,  especially  the  cholera.  Several  miles 
north-west,  in  Chellumbrum  (or  Chelambram),  a  port 
on  the  Coromandel  coast,  there  is  another  fine  pagoda, 
or  temple,  about  2,000  feet  long  by  700  feet  broad,  of 
granite  and  brick,  consisting  of  a  gigantic  colonnade, 
called  the  "  Hall  of  One  Thousand  Pillars,"  resting  on 
as  many  as  nine  hundred  and  thirty  pillars,  in  rows, 
leading  up  to  the  small  square  Vimana,  which  holds  the 
shrines  of  Sivaf  ^nd  his  wife  Parvate  (or  Parvati).    P'our 

*  Carnatic  is  the  name  of  a  native  State. 

f  Of  this  idol  we  will  treat  in  the  chapter  on  their  religion. 


332 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


gate-pyramids,  200  feet  high,  lead  to  the  temple,  which 
is  attended  by  3,cx)0  priests. 

Trichinopoly  (or  TrichinapalH)  is  a  city  of  77,000  in- 
habitants, on  the  river  Cauvery  ;  it  is  329  miles  from 
Madras,  Here  the  Coloroon  parts  off  from  the  Cauv- 
ery to  Devikota.  Harness,  cutlery,  jewelry,  and  che- 
roots are  made  here. 

Next  day  we  started  for  Madras.  Along  the  road 
we  saw  a  number  of  pagodas  in  the  same  style  as  those 
which  we  had  already  seen.  We  were  also  saddened 
to  hear  and  see  the  great  distress  of  the  people  dying 
by  famine  and  pestilence,  and  although  the  English 
Government  is  doing  very  much  to  alleviate  these  evils, 
by  giving  work  to  the  people,  and  sending  rice,  yet 
speculators  were  counteracting  all  the  efforts  at  relief. 
The  speculators  had  purchased  cjuantitics  of  rice,  which 
was  kept  very  tight  in  large  storehouses,  and  sold  at  an 
enormous  price.  At  noon  we  were  at  Erode  junction, 
from  which  a  rail-branch  runs  to  Calicut  (Calicat,  or  Kol- 
icod),  a  decayed  town  and  port  on  the  Malabar  coast. 
Calicut  is  memorable  as  being  the  first  tc)wn  touched  at 
by  Vasco  de  Gama,  May  ii,  1498,  after  rounding  the 
Cape  of  Good  liope,  ten  months  from  Lisbon. 

The  conductor  had  telegraphed  the  Babu,  or  station- 
master,  to  have  dinner  ready  for  us,  and  we  had  suffi- 
cient time  to  eat  it.  The  news  here  about  the  famine 
and  pestilence  was  terrible,  so  much  so  that  my  Erench 
friends  became  discouraged  and  home-sick.  I  heard 
them  saying  that  they  would  give  up  the  tour  of  India, 
and  that  from  Madras  they  would  go  directly  to  Bom- 
bay;  on  the  road  stopping  only  one  day  at  Ellora,  to 
visit  the  thirty  cave  temples,  on  a  hill,  ten  of  which  are 
Buddhistic,  fourteen  Brahminical,  and  six  of  Jain  origin, 
the  finest  being  the  Keylas,  or  Paradise  Cave,  138  feet 
high  by  88  feet  broad,  with  fresco  paintings. 


SAJ\rS  CEREMONIE.  333 

At  Erode  we  changed  cars,  and  took  those  for  the 
night,  which  we  had  already  engaged  from  Trichinop- 
oly,  telegraphing  the  station-master  twenty-four  hours 
previously,  according  to  regulations.  Each  night  car 
accommodates  only  four  persons,  and  it  is  limited,  and 
the  fare  is  higher  than  that  of  the  day  cars.  We  three 
were  in  one  car.  Here  a  gentleman  and  lady  came  with 
their  bed,  but  five  were  not  admissible ;  the  conductor 
came  along  and  said  that  in  the  next  car  there  was 
room  for  two  ;  my  two  companions  offered  to  occupy 
it,  and  I  remained  with  the  gentleman  and  lady.  The 
seats  where  the  bed  was  to  be  adjusted,  resembled 
those  of  the  sleeping  cars,  shelves  with  springs,  no  cur- 
tains, common  leather  cushions,  and  these  only  on  the 
two  seats  used  for  sitting  upon.  The  gentleman  re- 
moved one  of  these  cushions,  and  spread  it  on  the  top 
shelf  where  he  was  to  sleep  ;  under  this,  on  the  bare 
seat,  he  stretched  the  mattress  that  he  had  carried, 
sheets  and  pillows,  and  prepared  a  comfortable  bed  for 
his  wife.  I  used  the  cushion  and  prepared  my  bed  with 
my  blanket,  coat,  and  valise  on  the  other  seat  opposite 
to  the  lady.  The  shelf  over  me  remained  unoccupied. 
In  a  dim  light  they  undressed  themselves,  sans  ccrc- 
inojiic,  and  went  to  bed,  but  I  removed  only  my  coat, 
waistcoat,  and  slippers. 

During  the  night,  at  a  station,  the  gentleman  and 
lady  treated  me  to  coffee  and  brandy,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  the  lady  was  dressing  herself,  I  furnished  her 
with  a  looking-glass  and  cnu-(lc-coIoi;;}ic.  The  lady 
wanted  to  make  some  change  in  her  dress,  and  al- 
though at  this  time  we  had  become  intimate  friends, 
yet  I  did  not  like  to  loe  present  at  this  operation,  so  I 
suggested  to  wait  till  we  reached  the  next  station,  when 
I  would  step  out  for  a  few  moments  and  she  could 
change.     As  she  would  not  wait,  I  gave  her  husband 


534 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


my  shawl  to  hold  before  her  while  she  changed,  and 
thus  it  was  effected.  For  the  rest  there  was  no  dififi- 
culty. 

In  this  land,  where  it  is  usual  to  see  native  men  and 
women  perfectly  naked,  and  where  it  is  a  principle 
amongst  the  native  Hindoos,  that  anything  natural 
could  never  be  offensively  obscene,  such  nudity  is  no 
proof  of  depravity  in  their  morals.  The  white  people 
here  in  some  respects  accustom  themselves  to  it.  At 
6.30  A.M.  we  entered  the  station  of  Madras. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

MADRAS — HOTEL  —  FESTIVAL  OF  THE  MOHAMMEDANS— ST.  THOMAS' 
HILL — DEPARTURE  FOR  CALCUTTA  —  THE  HOOGLY  —  CALCUTTA — 
PATNA — liENARES. 

From  the  cars  we  saw  several  fields  with  tents  ;  a 
temporary  hospital  for  the  cholera  patients,  and  there 
were  accommodations  for  sick  people  suffering  from 
other  diseases.  We  were  told  that  a  great  many  na- 
tives feigned  sickness  in  order  to  be  taken  to  the  hos- 
pital, and  obtain  something  to  eat.  At  the  station  we 
found  a  hotel  agent,  who  took  charge  of  our  baggage, 
and  drove  in  his  carriage  to  the  Imperial  Hotel,  which 
was  crowded,  and  rooms  outside  did  not  suit  me.  My 
French  friends,  who  intended  to  leave  Madras  in  one  or 
two  days,  were  satisfied,  and  remained  there.  This  was 
the  last  day  that  I  saw  them.  I  drove  to  two  other 
inns,  and  at  last  I  found  rooms  at  Mrs.  Atkinson's — a 
good  and  first-class  hotel.  I  was  to  pay  four  rupees  a 
day,  wines  extra  ;  she  was  to  furnish  ice  at  all  meals. 
Breakfast  at  9  A.M. ;  tiffin  (luncheon)  at  i  P.M. ;  dinner, 
with  dessert,  at  7  P.M.,  and  coffee  at  5  A.M. ;  but  I  was 
to  hire  my  own  servants.  Here  was  the  trouble.  A 
complete  horde  of  menials  of  all  castes  and  descriptions 
were  forthcoming,  bringing  with  them  written  certifi- 
cates. This  is  one  of  the  plagues  of  India.  One  must 
hire  a  staff  of  servants,  whereas  one  or  two  would  be 
sufficient ;  but  these  servants  would  do  but  one  thing. 

(335) 


336  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

The  cook  would  not  wash  plates,  or  clean  knives  or 
forks ;  the  sweeper  would  not  make  the  beds,  the  valet 
would  not  wait  at  the  table,  and  so  forth ;  no  matter 
how  much  pay  you  would  give.  It  is  true  their  pay 
is  small ;  a  valet,  for  example,  could  be  hired  for  eight 
or  nine  rupees  per  month,  and  that  includes  board  and 


wages,  as  no  servant  (except  the  aiiiaJi,  or  wet  nurse)  is 
both  fed  and  clothed  in  India. 

The  native  manager  of  the  hotel  brought  a  number 
of  men  to  be  hired  by  me  for  different  objects.  I  sent 
them  all  away,  then  calling  the  manager,  told  him  :  "  I 
will  hire  only  a  valet,  and  nobody  else;  he  will  hand  to 
me  a  cup  of  coffee  at  5  A.M.  daily;  he  will  put  out  my 
body  linen,  clothes,  and  shoes  to  air;  prepare  my  toilet, 
and  arrange  my  bath  if  1  want  one ;  brush  my  shoes, 


MADRAS. 


■  clothes,  and  hat ;  arrange  the  things  for  the  tailor  and 
washerman ;  he  will  wait  on  me  when  paying  visits  or 
walking.  I  will  give  him  the  key  of  my  room  and  a  list 
of  what  is  there,  and  he  will  be  responsible  for  my 
things  ;  the  hotel-keeper  must  think  for  the  rest.  I  will 
pay  apart  for  the  washing." 

He  introduced  to  me  a  native  man,  who  had  good 
written  testimonials,  and  was  recommended  by  the  ho- 
tel manager.  I  agreed  to  pay  him  a  half-rupee  per  day. 
I  consigned  to  him  all  my  things;  he  arranged  my 
clothes  and  carried  them  to  the  washerman,  and  I  found 
him  exact  and  faithful. 

Madras,  Madraj,  Mandir-raj,  but  called  by  the  natives 
Chcmiapataiiam,  the  city  of  Chennappa  (Coromandel 
Coast),  did  not  strike  me  with  a  favorable  impression, 
apart  from  "the  famine,  cholera,  fevers,  and  other  sick- 
ness. It  is  the  capital  of  the  presidency,  and  the  larg- 
est city  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel.  It  consists  of 
Fort  St.  George,  the  native  or  black  town,  and  the  Eu- 
ropean houses  in  the  environs,  surrounded  by  gardens. 
It  lies  on  a  tongue  of  dry  and  barren  sand.  The  popu- 
lation is  calculated  to  be  397,550  inhabitants,  of  whom 
only  about  3,600  are  Europeans.  Twelve  thousand  are 
Eurasians,  three-fourths  are  Hindoos,  one-seventh  Mo- 
hammedans. The  heavy  surf  which  beats  on  the  shore, 
and  the  rapid  currenjt  in  this  part  of  the  gulf,  render  the 
landing  often  dangerous,  and  always  difficult.  The  great 
steamer  Duke  of  Suthci'laiid,  the  best  of  the  Ducal  line, 
was  on  shore  and  hard  aground.  She  was  loaded  with 
rice,  and  without  any  storm  went  ashore  in  broad  day- 
light, and  was  imbedded  in  sand  in  such  a  manner  that 
every  effort  made  to  dislodge  her  proved  a  failure,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  send  to  Calcutta  for  help. 

There  are  some  fine  buildings,  but  the  black  town  is 
an  irregular  assemblage  of  brick  and  bamboo  houses, 
15 


338  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

crowded  together  in  narrow  and  dirty  streets,  inhabited 
by  Hindoos,  Mohammedans,  Armenians,  Portuguese, 
and  Europeans  cngageJ  in  the  Company's  service. 
The  houses  of  the  Europeans  arc  gcticrally  of  one  story, 
surrounded  by  verandas ;  wet  mats  of  cusa  grass  arc 
placed  before  the  doors  and  windows  in  the  rainy  sea- 
son to  perfume  and  cool  the  apartments,  the  heat  being 
then  excessive. 

The  Government  house  is  a  handsome  building,  in  a 
park  at  Guindy ;  the  Central  Museum  is  one  of  the  best 
that  I  have  seen  in  India.  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  bishop, 
who  very  kindly  offered  me  his  hospitality,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  distance,  I  was  obliged  to  decline.  How- 
ever, after  Mass,  I  breakfasted  with  him.  The  Catholic 
population  within  the  municipal  limits  is  a  little  over 
24,000.  I  visited  St.  Thomas'  Mount,  about  eight 
miles  from  Madras.  The  road  is  lined  with  fine  villas 
of  the  natives  and  European  merchants  and  officials. 
There  are  two  churches,  with  about  1,000  Catholics. 

It  is  incredible  the  number  that  every  day  called  at 
the  hotel  for  alms,  to  sell  and  bargain.  The  distress 
was  such  that  they  would  barter  their  articles  for  any- 
thing. A  woman,  to  explain  the  miserable  condition  to 
which  she  was  reduced,  and  to  move  me  to  help  her, 
showed  me  every  rib,  and  taking  her  skin,  folded  it  over 
her  body;  she  was  nothing  but  skin  and  bones.  W'ho 
could  refuse  assistance  to  such  people  ?  I  saw  men  and 
women  picking  grains  of  rice  from  the  shore  and  streets, 
where  some  of  it  was  fal'ing  in  loading  and  trucking  it. 
They  gathered  sand  and  dirt  together  with  the  grains 
of  rice.  The  stomachs  of  these  poor  creatures  were  clam- 
oring loudly  for  food.  An  English  doctor,  who  attended 
the  hospital  by  order  of  the  Government,  and  who  was 
boarding  at  the  same  hotel,  told  me  that  the  cholera 
and  small-pox  were  fast  increasing. 


MOHAMMEDAN  FESTIVALS. 


339 


Notwithstanding  this,  I  was  surprised  to  see  the 
money  lavished  on  a  Mohammedan  festival,  the  name 
of  which  I  think  was  Moliurrum  or  Mohorruni,  and 
which  lasted  thirteen  days.  It  was  in  commemoration 
of  two  of  Mohammed's  sons  or  nephews,  who  died  in 
battle.  What  was  called  Tazias  (paper  cages),  made 
in  the  shape  of  elegant  mausoleums  containing  two 
small  tombs,  were  carried  in  procession.  There  were 
about  thirty  of  these  cages,  of  different  sizes,  sent  from 
different  parts  of  the  country ;  some  were  six  or  seven 
feet  high,  others  not  more  than  two  feet,  but  all  elegant- 
ly worked  in  paper.  The  procession  went  through  the 
Black  town  to  a  large  tank,  two  or  three  miles.  The 
ceremonies  opened  with  drums  and  sounds  of  bamboo 
sticks,  and  bugles  which  made  a  very  discordant  noise, 
but  keeping  time  to  the  movement  of  the  procession. 
Priests  in  Mohammedan  garments  followed  next.  The 
streets  were  crowded  to  excess,  and  the  people,  men  and 
women,  with  mournful  faces,  striking  their  breasts  with 
both  hands.  Priests  walked  also  before  each  cage,  hold- 
ing fires,  on  which  incense  and  other  perfumes  were 
burning.  Now  and  then  the  procession  stopped,  and 
before  each  cage  a  kind  of  mock  skirmish  was  in- 
dulged in  for  about  five  or  six  minutes,  then  the  pro- 
cession proceeded  as  before,  and  when  it  arrived  at 
the  great  tank,  went  round  it,  as  if  worshiping  it,  re- 
turning by  another  way.  The  crowd  was  so  large  that 
it  was  necessary  to  post  many  ofiiccrs,  some  of  them 
mounted  on  horseback,  to  keep  order  and  prevent  car- 
riages from  crossing  tlie  streets  or  the  tank.  I  observed 
also,  that  along  the  procession,  people  were  throwing 
over  both  the  fire  and  the  priests  some  kind  of  dust, 
which  appeared  t(j  me  to  be  incense  or  some  other 
kind  of  yellow  dust.  While  we  were  observing  the 
procession    from  our  carriage,  and    proceeding  to   the 


340 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


tank,  my  valet  asked  me  for  the  loan  of  a  few  annas  or 
pice,*  with  which  he  purchased  some  of  the  yellow 
dust,  and  flung  it  over  the  priests  and  the  fire.  It  look- 
ed to  me  like  a  carnival,  and  it  commences  on  the  very 
same  day  that  the  carnival  begins. 

In  Madras  they  manufacture  lace,  native  carved  fur- 
niture, tamarind-wood,  gold  and  silver  articles,  artificial 
flowers  (from  Pondicherry),  tale  pictures  (from  Trichi- 
nopoly),  moco  stones,  coral,  and  amber.  There  is  also  a 
manufactory  of  salt. 

On  Sunday,  after  Mass,  I  was  to  embark  on  the 
Meiiian,  a  fine  steamer  belonging  to  the  Messageries. 
I  purchased  two  tickets  for  four  annas,  one  for  myself 
and  the  other  for  my  valet,  that  being  the  entrance  fee 
to  the  inclosed  fence  or  landing.  The  boatman  wanted 
ten  rupees  to  carry  me  on  board  the  boat,  but  we 
agreed  for  five.  The  regular  price  is  one  rupee,  but  all 
the  people  being  occupied  in  landing  rice,  they  ask 
what  they  please  to  carry  passengers  to  the  steamer. 
It  was  necessary  to  have  twelve  men  to  steer  this  misera- 
ble boat  toward  the  steamer.  At  1 1  \.M.  we  left  for 
Calcutta. 

The  voyage  from  ^Madras  to  Calcutta  is  not  interest- 
ing ;  nothing  is  seen  except  some  native  boats,  and  oc- 
casionally a  homeward-bound  steamer.  The  sea  voyage 
is  performed  in  four  days,  and  as  we  had  splendid  weather, 
I  was  not  sea-sick.  About  one  hundred  miles  from 
Calcutta  the  Meiiian  entered  the  Ilooglyf  at  Sangor 
Island,  and  passed  the  Sunderbund  to  Diamond  Har- 
bor, twenty  miles  from  Calcutta.  In  many  places  the 
banks  of  this  stream  are  high  and  almost  cliff-like.  The 
navigation  of  this  river  is   difficult  and  dangerous,  on 


*  One  anna  is  about  three  cents  or  four  pice. 

■j-  A  westerly  branch  of  the  Ganges,  of  difficult  approach,  but  deep 
enough  for  any  large  vessel. 


FROM  MADRAS  TO  CALCUTTA.  341 

account  of  the  currents  and  sand-banks,  which  are  con- 
tinually changing  their  size  and  position,  thus  rendering 
a  steamer  liable  to  be  overturned.  We  saw  a  steamer 
aground  on  the  sand-bank.  About  sunset  we  landed  at 
Calcutta. 

Finding  no  room  at  the  Great  Eastern  or  Wilson's 
large  hotel,  I  drove  to  the  Hotel  de  France,  where  I 
found  good  accommodations,  European  table,  and  mod- 
erate prices ;  yet  every  one  must  be  attended  by  his 
own  servants.  As  the  ravages  of  cholera  and  small- 
pox were  frightful,  I  determined  to  stop  only  one  day. 
I  hired  a  carriage  and  drove  first  through  the  European 
part  of  the  city,  which  is  elegant ;  the  houses  are  of 
brick,  and  some  resemble  palaces.  On  account  of  the 
heat  of  the  climate,  they  are  not  joined  together,  but 
stand  at  a  distance  from  one  another.  Then  I  drove  to 
the  Black  town,  so-called  (the  PcltaJi),  which  is  the  quar- 
ter occupied  by  the  natives.  It  forms  a  striking  con- 
trast with  the  European  quarter.  The  streets  are  ex- 
tremely narrow  and  crooked,  interspersed  with  gardens 
and  innumerable  tanks ;  the  houses  are  some  of  brick, 
some  of  mud,  but  mostly  of  bamboo  or  straw  mats, 
presenting  a  motley  appearance ;  they  are  situated 
amidst  canals,  small  ponds,  pagodas,  and  mosques. 
From  thence  I  drove  to  the  Botanical  Gardens,  not  yet 
recovered  from  the  late  cyclone,  which  happened  on 
the  9th  of  June,  1870,  and  lasted  sixteen  hours,  and 
was  nearly  as  destructive  as  that  which  took  place  in 
November,  1867,  which  dcstn^ycd  30,000  native  houses. 
The  large  banyan  tree  has  three  hundred  stems,  and  is 
one  thousand  feet  round. 

Calcutta  {Kali-Cuttah,  Temple  of  Kali"),  the  capital 
of  Bengal,  and  of  the  whole  British  East  Indies,  is  situ- 


*  Kali  is  a  goddess. 


342 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


ated  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Hoogly.  It  war,  for- 
merly the  insignificant  village  of  Govindpour,  but  in  the 
last  century  it  rose  to  be  a  great  city,  and  it  is  now  one 
of  the  largest  cities  in  the  world,  with  a  population  of 
1,000,000,  mostly  Hindoos,  together  with  a  good  propor- 
tion of  Mohammedans.  About  20,000  are  Europeans 
20,000  Eurasians  (of  mixed  blood) ;  and  many  are  Ar- 


iri  I II   r      II 


CALCUTTA. 


mcnians,  Greeks,  Jews,  Chinese,  Parsees,  and  Negroes. 
The  Catholics  are  4,550.  Fort  William,  not  far  from 
the  city,  begun  by  Lord  Clive  in  1757,  is  octagon,  and  a 
magnificent  and  expensive  work.  It  has  bomb-proof 
barracks  for  10,000  men,  and  would  require  600  pieces 
of  cannon  to  arm  it.  The  new  palace  built  by  the  Mar- 
quis of  Wellesley,  which  cost  i^  1,000,000,  reminded  me 
of  the  fabled  palaces  of  the  Arabian  Nights.    Calcutta  is 


CALCUTTA. 


343 


the  emporium  of  Bengal,  and  the  channel  through  which 
the  treasures  of  the  interior  provinces  are  conveyed  to 
Europe.  The  port  is  filled  with  ships  of  all  nations. 
There  are  mercantile  houses  which  trade  annually  to  the 
amount  of  four  or  five  million  pounds  sterling,  in  sugar, 
opium,  silk,  muslin,  etc.  There  arc  steamers  of  many  na- 
tions of  Europe,  for  China,  Australia,  and  every  port  of 
India,  as  well  as  for  the  Persian  Gulf,  etc.  They  export 
great  quantities  of  salt  to  Assam,  and  gold,  silver,  ivory, 
musk,  and  a  peculiar  kind  of  silky  cotton  are  brought  back 
in  exchange.  Cowries,  a  description  of  small  shell,  passing 
as  coin,  are  received  in  exchange  for  rice  from  the  Mal- 
dives. The  Mongol  merchants  are  the  wealthiest.  The 
Hindoos,  however  rich,  remain  iixed  in  their  narrow 
views  and  accustomed  frugality.  Their  houses  and 
shops  are  mean,  and  it  is  only  on  the  occasion  of  nup- 
tials or  religious  festivals  that  they  indulge  in  any  ex- 
traordinary expense.  Then  they  assemble  under  mag- 
nificently illuminated  canopies,  distribute  rose-water  and 
other  perfumes  in  profusion,  and  regale  themselves  with 
confectionery  from  golden  vessels,  while  they  are  enter- 
tained by  the  voices  of  singing  girls,  or  the  exhibition 
of  pantomimes.  Notwithstanding  the  high  price  of  all 
the  necessaries  of  life,  and  the  enormous  expenditures 
of  the  English  merchants,  there  arc  a  multitude  of  in- 
stitutions for  the  relief  of  the  indigent  and  infirm. 

I  left  Calcutta  for  ISenares  by  the  night  train.  Next 
day,  by  noon,  we  were  at  Patna,  once  a  great  city,  sup- 
posed to  l)e  the  Palihothra  of  the  (Greeks,  and  the  first 
where,  in  1763,  the  I^nglish  estaljli.shed  a  factory.  It 
lies  on  a  hot  part  of  the  (iangcs,  near  the  Sone  canal. 
The  po[julati(jn  is  considei'cd  to  be  312,000,  l)ut  some 
say  that  it  is  onK'  about  half  that  number.  I'here  is 
a  Catholic  cathedral  at  r)ankypore,  the  suburb  where 
the   Eurcjpeans  have* their  houses,  opposite  I'atna,  but 


344  ^   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  Vicar-Apostolic  has  so  httle  to  do  that  he  generally 
resides  at  Allahabad,  and  even  there  he  has  not  much 
work  to  perform,  except  for  the  British  soldiers  and 
some  Europeans.  This  is  an  old  Mohammedan  city,  the 
chief  scat  of  the  opium  trade,  and  capital  of  Behar,  four 
miles  long  and  one  broad,  inclosed  by  a  brick  wall  hav- 
ing small  round  bastions,  but  many  parts  have  fallen  to 
decay ;  the  streets  are  narrow,  and  the  houses  of  the 
natives  generally  make  a  mean  appearance.  There  are 
many  ghauts  and  granaries  on  the  river.  The  Nabob's 
palace  and  gardens  are  three  miles  round.  There  is  also 
an  old  fort ;  here  is  the  great  Iviavibai'ra  (near  a  large 
mosque  and  the  tank),  which  can  hold  100,000  at  the 
Mohorrum "'•  and  other  festivals;  several  mosques  and 
tombs,  including  the  tomb  of  Shah  Arzani,  the  Hindoo 
temples  of  Patanadcvi,  etc.  This  was  the  headquarters 
of  the  Wahabee  or  Mussulman  conspiracy  of  1864. 
Besides  the  trade  in  opium,  which  here  is  at  its  best, 
this  city  trades  in  table-linen,  wax  candles,  toys,  bird- 
cages, and  tale  pictures. 

At  Madras  I  commenced  to  suspect  the  number  of 
converts  to  be  very  small,  not  on  account  of  the  mis- 
sionaries;  but  like  the  Chinese,  Satan  holds  his  hands 
too  strongly  over  the  neck  of  the  natives,  claiming 
them  as  his  own,  and  those  unhapp\'  creatures  worship 
Satan  under  many  different  forms,  even  the  most 
abominable.  The  poor  missionaries  die  of  broken 
hearts  at  seeing  their  labors,  their  sacrifices,  their  priva- 
tions, their  exposures  in  a  country  whose  climate  is  too 
tr\"ing  on  European  constitutions,  depri\-ed  not  ^)X\\\  of 
all  comforts,  but  even  of  the  necessaries  of  lift;,  to  have 
not  even  the  consolation  of  seeing  their  hard  labors 
crowned  with  the  conversion  of  these  slaves  of  Satan. 


*  A  festival  of  the  natives. 


BARREN  SPIRITUAL  HARVEST.  345 

Their  courage  is  only  supported  by  the  confidence  in 
that  God  who  will  reward  them  according  to  their 
labors  and  not  according  to  their  fruit ;  their  crown 
will  be  still  increased  for  the  sacrifice  which  they 
cheerfully  make  of  being  deprived  of  ever\-  human  con- 
solation. To  see  a  great  harvest  is  a  consolation  and 
comfort  in  this  world  ;  but  the  poor  missionaries  in 
India  are  deprived  of  this  consolation.  ICxcept  the 
British  soldiers  and  troops,  from  whom  and  the  British 
Government  the\-  receive  a  support,  very  few  natives 
accept  their  preaching. 

To  give  an  instance  of  what  I  have  asserted  :  Take 
this  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Patna,  which  was  disjoined 
from  that  of  Thibet  and  Mindostan  in  1845  ;  it  has 
only  about  9,500  Catholics,  of  whom  only  2,000  are  na- 
tives, the  rest  are  I'Luropean  officers,  soldiers,  and  Gov- 
ernment employes:  yet  the  population  ascends  to 
several  millions  !  l^omba}'  (cit}')  contains  a  population 
of  about  700,000;  Catholics  (including  Girgaum,  Up})er 
Colaba,  Mazagon,  B\xulla,  and  both  Mahim),  onl\- 
21,000  in  the  entire  \'icariate  ! !  it  is  true  it  docs  not 
include  those  Catholics  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Archbisho])  of  Goa.  Yet  1  wish  to  make  this  obser\-a- 
tion  :  In  Ce}lon,  and  perhaps  in  Cape  CouKM'in,  in  the 
time  of  St.  i'rancis  Xavier,  the  people  professed  Buddh- 
ism, which  sect  is  very  moral,  practicing  a  strict  ascetic 
rmd  penitential  life  ;  hence,  the}'  are'  easier  to  coiu'crt. 
Hut  in  the  continent  of  India,  tlie  people  profess  Brah- 
minism  and  Mohammedanism,  botli  \'er\'  vicious  and 
sensual  ;  the  people  are  degraded  ami  ])lunge(l  in  igno- 
rance and  vices.  Their  priests  are  greed\-  and  lustful. 
It  is  not  long  ago  that  in  i^omba\' some  of  these  priests 
were  coiu'ieted  of  the  most  shameless  oi'gie's  ])racticed 
with  young  and  married  women  in  their  tem[)les  and  in 
their  houses,  under  the  cloak  t)f  religion. 


346  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

At  5  P.M.  we  arrived  at  Mogul  Serai  station,  where 
passengers  for  Benares  change  trains  ;  and  at  6,30  P.M. 
we  were  at  the  Benares  station  out  of  the  city.  On  foot 
I  crossed  the  Ganges  on  a  bridge  of  boats,  and  some 
cooHes  took  my  baggage  on  the  other  side,  thus  avoid- 
ing the  toll  of  Rs.  1-8-0  "■  levied  upon  conveyances.  I 
took  a  gharif  and  drove  to  Clark's  Hotel,  where  board 
and  lodging  arc  charged  for  at  the  rate  of  five  rupees 
per  diem. 

Next  day,  Friday,  I  took  the  son  of  W.  J.  Clark, 
proprietor  of  the  hotel,  for  my  guide,  and  went  to  the 
sacred  river  Ganges,  the  banks  of  which  for  three  miles 
are  lined  with  ghauts  (steps),  shrines,  and  temples, 
founded  by  wealthy  rajahs,  bankers,  and  merchants, 
where  crowds  of  devotees  between  the  hours  of  7  and 
9  A.M.  assemble,  and  hundreds  of  persons  of  both  sexes, 
indifferent  to  each  other's  presence,  engage  in  ablution. 
On  some  of  the  Hindoo  festival  days,  all  the  ghauts  are 
crowded  with  men  and  women  washing  themselves  in 
the  Ganges;  thus,  as  they  believe,  washing  themselves 
of  their  sins.  Some  wash  themselves  every  day.  They 
can  commit  any  wickedness,  and  then  go  and  wash 
themselves  in  the  Ganges,  and  become  as  white  as 
snow.     How  dirty  that  water  must  be  ! 

\\"e  engaged  a  boat  to  enjoy  the  view  of  Benares 
from  the  river.  ,In  stepping  from  the  ghauts  into  the 
boat,  the  badly  fixed  plank  turned  over,  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  my  guide,  who  took  hold  of  me,  I  would 
have  been  plunged  into  the  Ganges.  It  is  true,  had  I 
fallen  in,  that  the  natives  would  have  believed  me  for- 
tunate in  having  all  my  sins  washed  away  ;  but  should 
I  have  been  drowned,  what  would  have  become  of  me  ? 


*  This  figure  Rs.  i-S-o  in  India  means,  i  Rupee,  8  Annas,  o  Pies 
(that  is,  no  pice). 

\  Ghari  is  a  carriage. 
15* 


THE  HINDOO  OBSER  VA  TOR  V. 


547 


A  person  that  dies  in  Benares  is  sure  to  go  to  heaven, 
and  if  he  is  so  happy  as  to  be  drowned  in  the  Ganges, 
he  is  certain  that  he  will  not  transmigrate  into  a  don- 
key ;  but  if  he  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  drowned  on 
the  opposite  shore  of  the  Ganges,  he  is  sure  to  trans- 
migrate into  a  donkey.    We  went  first  up  the  river,  and 


liKNAKKS,     FROM    TIIK    GANCKS. 


saw  an  ouiniuui  gatherum  of  the  most  wliimsical  and 
ludicrously  wild-looking  images  in  Ikniarcs  for  o\cr  a 
mile  and  a  half.  It  was  a  great  sight.  In  returning, 
the  boat  traveled  vcr)-  fast  with  the  current  of  the 
river  f(jr  over  three  miles;  in  returning,  we  stopped  at 
ghauts  leading  up  to  the  Hindoo  Oljservatory,  called 
Man-Mandil.  This  building  was  constructed  by  Rajah 
Jai  .Singh  toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
or  about  the  year  1693  of  the  Christian  era.     The  Ra- 


348  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

jah  was  selected  by  the  Emperor  Mohammed  Shah  to 
reform  the  calendar,  which  instead  of  proving  a  guide, 
led  the  learned  into  error.  Of  the  five  observatories 
erected  by  the  learned  Rajah,  namcK-,  at  Delhi,  Mut 
tra,  Oojein,  Je\'pore,  and  l^enares,  the  latter  is  stated  to 
be  in  the  best  working  order. 

There  I  saw  the  quadrant,  consisting  of  a  \\all  elexen 
feet  high,  and  nine  feet  one  and  a  cjuarter  inches  broad, 
in  the  plane  of  the  meridian.  By  this  instrument,  the 
sun's  altitude  and  zenith  distance  at  noon,  the  sun's 
greatest  declination,  and  the  latitude  of  the  place  may 
be  ascertained.  There  is,  also,  a  double  mural  cpiad- 
rant  ;  and  to  the  east  an  equinoctial  circle  made  of 
stone.  Two  large  circles  of  stone  and  of  lime,  and  a 
large  square  of  stone  are  close  to  the  first  cpiadrant, 
with  which  the  shadow  of  the  gnomon  cast  b\'  the  sun, 
and  the  degree  of  azimuth  were  probablx'  ascertained. 
.Another  stone  instrumenl  (called  Ya,itrasa>nrat,  prince 
of  instruments),  whose  wall  is  tln'it\--six  feet  in  length, 
and  four  and  a  half  in  breadth,  is  set  in  the  plane  of  the 
meridian,  and  it  slopes  gradu;il!\'  upwards,  so  as  to  point 
directl}'  to  the  north  pole.  B\-  the  aid  of  tliis  instru- 
ment the  distances  from  the  meridian,  and  the  declina- 
tion of  an\-  planet  or  star,  and  the  sun,  and  also  the 
right  ascension  of  a  star,  ma\-  be  ascertained.  It  would 
tax  the  patience  of  the  reader  to  describe  all  the  instru- 
ments in  this  observatory,  as  all,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few,  are  in  working  order,  and  made  of  stf)ne. 

The  astronomer  showed  me  a  wire  fixetl  in  two 
points,  one  of  which  was  attached  to  an  instrument  of 
observation  ;  and  having  learned  that  I  was  tra\'eling, 
told  me  to  hold  one  ])oint  of  that  wire,  while  he  would 
observe  the  stars  to  see  whether  my  journey  would  be 
a  lucky  or  an  unlucky  one.  I  thanked  him,  sa}-ing  that 
I  trusted  in  God,  the  true  living  God,  and  not  in  their 


THE  GODDESS  DE  VI.  34^ 

manufactured  idols;  I  needed  no  observation  of  stars; 
the  true  God  and  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  would  as- 
sist me  to  a  prosperous  journey.  I  had  trav^eled  nearly 
round  the  whole  world  under  their  protection,  and  I 
had  always  experienced  their  steady  assistance.  All 
the  stars  and  their  vain  observations,  and  their  wooden 
or  stony  gods,  not  only  could  do  me  no  good,  but 
could  do  nothing  at  all.  I  gave  him  some  annas  "  and 
left. 

In  stepping  from  the  ghauts  to  the  boat  I  experienced 
the  same  mishap  as  at  starting,  and  came  near  falling 
into  the  Ganges,  and  would  have  taken  an  involuntary 
bath,  if  my  guide  had  not  hastened  to  save  me.  I 
wonder  if  he  did  not  think  that  I  was  under  the  in- 
fluence of  some  benign  star?  W'c  went  to  the  temple 
of  Sankata-Dcvi  (goddess  Devi),  a  goddess  believed  to 
grant  whatever  favor  is  asked  for.  15arrcn  women  are 
the  greatest  frequenters  of  this  temple,  and  their  one 
prayer  is  that  the  goddess  would  bestow  on  them  the 
gift  of  children.  One  poor  woman  after  offering  flow- 
ers, began  beating  her  head  on  the  floor,  and  with  tears 
was  supplicating  the  goddess  to  grant  her  a  child.  She 
was  praying  in  these  words:  ^'  LacJuiii\  has  given  me 
wealth,  so  that  I  can  daily  feed  a  thousand  persons,  but 
I  am  still  unhappy;  is  it  \'our  \vish  that  my  wealth 
should  be  enjoyed  b\'  strangers?  Oh,  Sidlicsxvari,  give 
me  only  one  child,  and  I  will  be  )-()ur  slave  for  life. 
Even  a  daughter  would  be  preferaljlc  to  no  cliild  at  all. 
I  vow  to  feed  daih'  one  hundred  Ih'ahmiris  at  }'our 
shrine  for  a  \\-hole  \-ear,  on  m\-  supplication  being 
granted." 

There  are  nearl}'  1,470  sJti\'(xIas  (temples,  or  shrines), 


*  Anna  is  an  Indian  coin,  vvdrth  llircc  ct-nts. 

f  A  divinity  wife  of  Vishnu.      In  India   the  same   divinity  has  sev- 
eral names. 


350 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


and  280  mosques  in  Benares — the  IToly  City  of  the 
Hindoos  ;  but  if  tliosc  in  the  jurisdiction  of  Sikraul  be 
included,  the  number  increases  to  about  1,550  of  the 
former,  and  300  of  the  latter.  The  shivala  is  dedicated 
to  the  idol  Bishcshar,  or  Siva,  the  presiding  deity  of 
Benares.  This  idol  is  considered  the  king  of  all  the 
Hindoo  deities,  therefore  a  greater  superstitious  rever- 
ence  is  paid  to  it  than  to  any  of  the  others.  In  the 
morning  hundreds  of  devout  worshipers  of  both  sexes 
may  be  seen  wending  their  way,  with  suitable  offerings 
in  their  hands,  to  this  shivala.  The  Europeans  desig- 
nate this  by  the  name  of  Golden  Temple,  but  the  dome 
and  tower  are  covered  only  with  copper  plates  overlaid 
with  gold-leaf,  and  not  with  sheets  of  gold.  The  two 
widows  of  the  Pinida,  who  was  the  proprietor,  pocket 
the  profits  of  this  shivala.  There  is  a  reservoir  about 
three  feet  square  and  one  and  a  half  feet  in  depth,  filled 
with  the  offerings  in  coin  of  distinguished  visitors.  It 
is  stated  that  Maharajah  Runjit  Singh  was  the  only 
one  who  ever  filled  it  with  gold  mohurs,'"'''  while  scores 
have  filled  it  with  rupees,  and  hundreds  with  pice.  One 
man  guards  the  door  and  puts  a  fan  into  the  hands  of 
distinguished  devotees,  who  arc  anxious  to  perform 
some  menial  office  for  the  idol,  of  which  fanning  is  one; 
a  second  rings  the  bell  to  call  the  puiidas  to  worship  ;  a 
third  places  the  sacrificial  dishes  before  the  idol,  and 
distributes  the  food  among  the  attendants ;  a  fourth 
holds  up  a  looking-glass  to  the  idol ;  a  fifth  sweeps  the 
place;  a  sixth  beats  the  drum,  or  blows  the  horn  called 
sankh;  a  seventh  acts  the  part  of  treasurer;  an  eighth 
washes  and  cleanses  the  vessels  used  in  the  temple. 
But  scores  of  Brahmins  are  employed  in  visiting  differ- 


*A  7nohur\s  a  British-Indian  gold  coin  of  the  value  of  fifteen  ru- 
pees, or  about  $7.50. 


THE   WELL  OF  KXOWI.EDGE.  351 

ent  parts  of  India  accompanying  the  pilgrims.  In  some 
temples  there  are  men  who  prepare  the  idol's  bed,  and 
present  a  tooth-pick,  after  it  is  supposed  to  have  taken 
its  meals. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Bishesharnath  there  is  a  mosque  in 
close  proximity  to  one  of  the  places  held  most  sacred 
by  the  Hindoos,  and  it  has  always  been  the  source  of 
great  annoyance  to  both  parties.  The  principal  cause  of 
dispute  between  the  IMohammedans  and  Hindoos  is  the 
blowing  of  the  horn  (sankh),  which  the  former  will  not 
permit  on  the  ground  that  the  sound  of  it  during  prayer- 
time  destroys  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  Of  course,  the 
Hindoos  will  not  give  in,  and  they  urged  that  the  blow- 
ing of  the  saiikh  is  indispensably  necessary  in  the  serv- 
ices of  the  temple,  and  consequently  the  disputes  fre- 
quently end  in  a  street  fight. 

In  this  vicinity  there  is  a  celebrated  well  called  Gya)i 
Bapi,  "  The  Well  of  Knowledge,"  which  is  the  residence 
of  the  god  Siva  (or  Shiva).  An  imposing  cohmnade  of 
forty  pillars  was  built  over  it,  in  1828  of  the  Christian 
era.  Hundreds  of  Hindoos  may  be  seen  here  at  all 
hours  of  the  forenoon  throwing  their  offerings  of  flcnv- 
ers  and  water  into  it.  The  water  used  in  the  adjoining 
temple  flows  into  the  well,  and  the  result  is  that  the 
stench  emitted  from  it  may  better  be  imagined  than 
experienced.  Notwithstanding  this  terrible  stench,  the 
well  is  considered  one  of  their  most  sacred  places.  An 
orthodox  Hindoo  really  believes  that  whoever  drank  of 
the  water  in  ancient  times  was  blessc-d  with  knowledge, 
but  now,  owing  to  a  want  of  faith  in  its  efficacy,  the 
gift  is  withheld.  Tliere  is  a  tradition  that  after  a  fam- 
ine of  twelve  )-ears'  duration,  ^\'hen  even  water  was 
scarce,  some  suf)ernatural  being  dug  up  this  particular 
spot  and  there  came  forth  a  plentiful  supply  of  water. 

Being  in  this  locality  we  saw  the  shrine  dedicated  tQ 


352 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


SanicJiar,  or  the  planet  Saturn,  which  is  the  dread  of 
the  Hindoos,  who  make  offerings  at  this  shrine  more 
through  fear  than  rehgious  reverence.  This  deity  has 
the  power  of  bringing  troubles  on  the  human  race  for  a 
period  of  seven  and  a  half  years,  but  it  simultaneously 
grants  an  indulgence  to  those  who  worship  it.  It  has  a 
silver  head,  but  it  is  bodylcss ;  an  apron  concealing  it 
from  the  neck  downwards. 

Manikarnikh  is  the  celebrated  well  of  Hindoo  my- 
thology, which  is  visited  by  thousands  of  pilgrims  every 
month,  and  during  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  by  upwards  of 
a  hundred  thousand.  The  putrefaction  of  the  offerings 
thrown  into  this  well  has  rendcrf.'d  its  water  truly  pesti- 
lential. In  ancient  times  many  individuals  sacrificed 
themselves  in  this  spot,  but  before  doing  so,  they  so- 
licited that  they  should  on  transmigration  be  born  in 
the  house  of  scjmc  Rajah,  or  of  some  very  opulent  per- 
son of  high  caste.  It  is  at  Manikarnika  ghat  that  Hin- 
doos burn  their  dead,  and  no  Hindoo  can  ever  expect 
to  reach  heaven  unless  the  fire  employed  for  the  funeral 
pile  is  taken  from  the  house  of  some  doiiira  (wealthy), 
the  loAvest  and  most  despised  caste  in  India.  During 
lifetime  a  Hindoo  dare  not  take  fire  from  a  domra 
even  to  cook  his  food,  but  after  death  the  relatives  have 
to  beg  and  pray  of  the  domra  to  furnish  fire  to  burn  the 
body  of  their  deceased  relatixe.  A  Hindoo  prince  had 
recently  to  gi\'e  one  thcnisand  rupees  for  fire.  The 
domra  who  holds  the  monopc^ly  at  this  ghat  is  a  very 
w'ealthy  man. 

In  the  temple  of  Bridhkal  there  have  been  human 
sacrifices  offered.  In  the  practice  of  sali/-'  the  mother 
of  the  family  it  was  who  was  burnt  alive  ;  the  scene  be- 
ing   heartrending,   with  her  offspring   clinging   around 


*  A  human  sacrifice. 


THE  SERPENT  GOD. 


353 


her,  the  pale  corpse  of  the  father  stretched  out  in  her 
presence  on  the  funeral  bier,  as  if  to  add  additional  im- 
petus to  her  ghastly  duty ;  spurning  ev^ery  feeling  of 
compassion,  cutting  asunder  every  tender  tie,  and  on 
that  fatal  spot,  abandoning  her  offspring  to  strangers 
she  rushed  into  the  devouring  flames.  The  poor  or 
phans,  after  lingering  near  the  pile  on  which  their 
father  and  mother  had  been  consumed  to  ashes,  re- 
traced hand  in  hand  their  mournful  steps  to  their  va- 
cant and  desolate  home,  looking  in  vain  for  the  accus- 
tomed welcome  of  their  parents.  The  English  Govern- 
ment had  to  overcome  gigantic  difficulties  in  compelling 
the  Hindoos  to  cease  these  barbarous  and  diabolical 
sacrifices. 

In  this  locality  there  is  a  temple  to  Mahadco  (the 
serpent  god),  which  has  a  snake  wreathed  about  it.  In 
the  locality  of  the  wells  already  described  are  two 
shrines,  viz,  Markandeshwar  and  Daksheshwar.  The 
legend  regarding  Rajah  Daksh,  after  whom  the  latter 
shrine  is  called,  is  as  follows  :  On  a  certain  occasion 
Mahadeo  invited  all  the  gods  to  an  entertainment,  and 
his  father-in-law.  Rajah  Daksh,  with  his  wife  Sati  (Rajah 
Daksh's  daughter)  were  among  the  guests,  and  as  Ma- 
hadeo  slighted  his  father-in-law  in  the  presence  of  such 
an  august  assemblage,  by  omitting  to  pay  the  respect 
due  to  a  senior.  Rajah  Daksh  anathematized  him  in  the 
following  terms  :  "  That  Mahadeo  shall  be  a  vagrant, 
and  go  about  in  a  state  of  nudity;  that  he  sliall  wear 
long,  matted  hair,  and  use  a  tiger's  skin  as  a  mattress, 
and  that  he  shall  assume  the  office  of  (lestro\'cr  at  tlie 
end  of  the  world."  After  this  Rajah  Daksh  proceeded 
to  his  house  and  sent  inx'itations  to  all  the  gods  to  at- 
tend a  carnival,  but  omitted  to  in\'ite  Afahadeo  and  his 
wife  .Sati.  Neither  Mahadeo  nor  his  wife  had  heard 
about  the  entertainment,  but   were  officially  informed 


354 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


about  it  by  Narad  Muni ;  upon  this  Sati  solicited  per- 
mission to  visit  her  father's  house,  but  Mahadeo  refused 
to  let  her  go,  because  not  having  been  invited,  it  would 
be  shameful  for  her  to  go.  She  went.  When  Sati  ar- 
rived at  her  father's  house  she  was  only  noticed  by  her 
mother,  the  other  members  of  the  family  not  even  con- 
descending to  salute  her.  She  received  her  share  of 
food,  but  her  husband's  share,  which  should  have  been 
given  to  her  in  his  absence,  was  kept  back;  this  consid- 
erably incensed  her,  and  the  heavens  rained  down 
blood.  Some  of  the  god-guests  having  disapproved  of 
the  Rajah's  action,  took  their  departure  from  the  feast, 
when  Sati  entered  the  sacrificial  hole  and  was  burnt  to 
ashes.  The  officious  Narad  Jlhiiii  was  again  at  work, 
and  conveyed  the  mournful  intelligence  to  Mahadeo, 
who,  having  summoned  an  army  of  evil  spirits,  appoint- 
ed BhirbJiadar  (the  powerful  demon-general)  to  be  the 
general  of  the  force,  with  instructions  to  kill  the  Rajah. 
On  the  way  Bhirbhadar  rooted  up  whole  forests  and 
mountains,  which  he  conveyed  in  the  palms  of  his 
hands.  On  arrival  at  the  Rajah's  residence,  Bhirb- 
hadar called  the  Rajah  to  account,  and  immediately 
after  decapitated  him  and  slaughtered  all  his  guests. 
Brahma  heard  of  it,  and  having  remonstrated  with 
Mahadeo,  prevailed  upon  him  to  restore  the  slain  to 
life.  This  having  been  done,  poor  Rajah  Daksh's  head 
was  71071  est,  upon  which  Mahadeo  ordered  a  goat's  head 
to  be  substituted,  when  the  Rajah  was  also  restored  to 
life.  Brahma  then  advised  Rajah  Daksh  to  \\^\i  Bcn.ires 
and  to  erect  a  temple  to  Mahadco's  honor.  The  Rajah 
continued  to  reside  at  Benares  in  the  practice  of  relig- 
ious ceremonies,  and  assumed  the  title  of  Rajah  of  the 
Himalayas.  Sati  was  again  born  and  was  named  Par- 
vati,  and  on  attaining  age  she  was  remarried  to  Maha- 
deo.     The  husband  and  wife  visited   Benares,  where 


ANTIQUITY  OF  BENARES.S  355 

they  met  Rajah  Daksh  with  his  goat  head,  and  still  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  rehgion.  The  Rajali  having 
soHcited  pardon,  which  was  granted,  he  dedicated  a 
shrine  to  Mahadeo,  caHing  it  Dakshcshwar. 

The  great  merit  of  Benares  consists  in  being  the  old 
seat  of  Hindoo  learning  and  science,  and  of  being  a  very 
ancient  city,  believed  to  have  been  founded  1600  B.C.,  on 
the  Ganges,  on  the  site  of  Dcvasdasa,  or  City  of  Kasi, 
where  there  is  a  well  much  venerated  by  the  Hindoos. 
It  is  principally  built  of  stone.  Some  of  the  streets  are 
so  narrow  that  it  is  difficult  to  penetrate  them,  even  on 
horseback.  Some  houses  are  six  stories  high,  close  to 
each  other,  and  some  are  fantastically  painted  with 
groups  of  mythological  figures,  with  terraces  on  the 
summit,  and  very  small  windows  to  prevent  glare  and 
inspection.  The  opposite  sides  of  the  streets,  in  some 
parts,  approach  so  near  to  each  other  as  to  be  united  by 
galleries.  Its  narrow  arcaded  streets,  containing  some 
well-built  stone  and  brick  houses,  swarm  with  Brahmins, 
fakirs,  beggars,  holy  bulls,  and  monkeys.  The  temple 
of  the  goddess  Durga  (Durga-Kund)  is  literally  infested 
by  monkeys,  and  for  this  reason  Europeans  call  this 
Hindoo  temple  the  monkey  temple.  The  monkeys 
here  live  in  high  glee,  and  take  away  fruits  and  other 
edibles.  Woe  to  the  man  that  hurts,  chases-,  or  wounds 
them. 

This  sacred  city  of  the  Hindoos  is  indisputably  a 
place  of  great  antiquity,  and  may  even  date  from  the 
time  when  the  Arja/i  race  tlrst  spread  itself  over  \orth- 
ern  India,  and  must  be  reckoned  amongst  the  primitive 
cities  founded  by  this  ])c:ople.  Allusions  to  Beiiai'es  are 
exceedingly  abundant  in  ancient  Sanskrit  literature,  and 
perhaps  there  is  no  city  in  all  1  lindostan  morc^  frequently 
referred  to. 

In  any  case,  Benares  is  a  city  of  no  mean  antiquity. 


356  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Twenty.five  centuries  ago,  at  the  least,  it  was  famous. 
When  Babylon  was  struggling  with  Nineveh  for  su- 
premacy, when  Tyre  was  planting  her  colonies,  when 
Athens  was  growing  in  strength,  before  Rome  had  be- 
come known,  or  Greece  had  contended  with  Persia,  or 
Cyrus  had  added  lustre  to  the  Persian  monarchy,  or 
Nabuchodonosor  had  captured  Jerusalem,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Judea  had  been  carried  into  captivity, 
Benares  had  already  risen  to  greatness,  if  not  to  glory. 
Nay,  she  may  have  heard  of  the  fame  of  Solomon,  and 
have  sent  her  ivory  and  her  peacocks  to  adorn  his  pal- 
aces, while  with  her  gold  he  may  have  partly  overlaid 
the  temple  of  the  living  God.  While  many  cities  and 
nations  have  fallen  into  decay  and  perished,  she  has 
constantly  exhibited  vitality  and  vigor,  and  her  illus- 
trious name  has  descended  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, and,  as  a  city,  gives  no  sign  of  feebleness  nor  symp- 
toms of  impending  dissolution.  Beloved  and  venerated 
by  the  vast  Hindoo  family,  she  has  ever  received  the 
willing  homage  of  her  deluded  and  Satan-ridden  subjects 
scattered  over  all  India. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  I  must  confess  that  I 
was  much  disappointed  with  Benares.  It  is  true  that 
she  has  5,000  Hindoo  temples  and  pagodas,  but  none 
of  these  can  compare  with  the  sublime  grandeur  of  the 
temples  and  royal  palaces  of  Southern  India,  nor  with 
the  Buddhist  excavations  of  Western  India  ;  and,  with 
the  exception  of  the  mosque,  the  Musjeed  of  Aurung- 
zebe,  at  the  Madhoray  Ghat,  marked  by  eight  slender 
minarets  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  feet  high,  and 
only  twelve  feet  broad  at  the  base,  at  Sarnarth,  I  do 
think  to  be  inferior  to  the  Cyclopean  tombs  of  Western 
India.  Several  other  travelers  have  made  the  same 
observation. 

With  regard  to  the  immense  number  of  pilgrims,  it 


PILGRIMS. 


357 


is  not  altogether  devotion  and  piety  that  move  the 
Hindoos  to  perform  pilgrimages  to  Benares  and  other 
locaHties  kept  sacred  by  them,  but  it  is  tlie  shrewdness 
and  love  of  profit  that  bring  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  deluded  and  deceived  Hindoos.  Of  the  number  of 
pilgrim-hunters  in  I^enares  we  may  form  scmiic  idea 
from  the  fact,  that  one  man  at  one  of  these  temples, 
previoush'  employed  in  one  of  the  menial  offices  at  a 
salary  of  three  rupees  per  month,  aware  of  the  vast 
profit  attending  the  trade,  had  trained  up  fifty  of  these 
missionaries  to  go  forth  througli(nit  Northern  India 
proclaiming  the  greatness  and  gh)ry  of  the  idol  at 
whose  temple  he  was  employed,  and  the  immense 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  pilgrimage  to  his  ])ar- 
ticular  temple.  He  had  found  this  so  profitable  a 
trade,  that  he  was  training  fifty  more  of  these  agents 
to  send  to  Southern  India.  I  was  told  in  Benares  that 
the  whole  body  of  idol-missionaries  far  exceeds  in  num- 
ber all  the  Christian  missionaries.  Benares  has  long 
been  the  great  mart  for  diamonds  and  other  gems, 
brought  principally  from  the  Bundelkund. 

Next  day  being  Sunday,  I  told  m\'  coachman  to 
drix'e  to  the  priest's  house,  but  I  coidd  hardly  make 
him  und'M'stand  ;  he  was  a  Hindoo,  and  could  not 
speak  or  understand  any  cither  language.  After  carry- 
ing me  througli  main'  narrow  streets,  lie  stop])('d  at  a 
nice-looking  brick  houst;  ;  1  ah'glitctk  mounted  a  fiight 
(jf  se\cn  or  eight  steps,  rang  the  bull,  and  when  the 
door  was  opened  two  big  k.ui'opcan  girls,  \\el]-di'esse(l, 
l)resente(l  ihemsclvt's.  "Is  this  tlu:  priest's  house.''"' 
1  asl^erl.  They  Icjft,  and  I  licard  them  sa)%  "  Papa, 
j)ai)a  I  a  ger.tleman  wants  \'ou  I  "  I  sooji  understood 
that  I  was  in  tlie  wrong  pew.  A  person  came,  and  he 
directed  my  dri\'er  to  tlie  right  j^kice. 


358 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


On  Sunday  I  said  Mass  in  Benares.  A  British  sol- 
dier served  Mass,  and  I  was  invited  to  dine  at  the  pas-, 
tor's  residence,  Yr.  Carlo,  with  whom  I  had  a  long  con- 
ference on  India  and  the  Hindoos.  In  the  afternoon  1 
left  for  Allahabad. 


O:^    -^^ 


CHAPTER    XVIIT. 

ALLAHABAD — CAWNPORF. — LUCKNOW — ^AGRA — DELHI — THE    HIMALAYA 

MOUNTAINS — UMBALA — SIMLA. 

I  STOPPED  at  the  Hotel  Laurie,  near  the  station. 
One  day  is  quite  sufficient  to  devote  to  this  city,  which 
is  increasing  day  b\' clay,  principally  through  European 
settlement.  Here  the  Jubbulpore  branch  turns  off  to 
Bombay  (840  miles  distant).  Allahabad  lies  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  sacred  rivers,  the  Jumna  and  Ganges,  630 
miles  from  Calcutta,  386  miles  from  Delhi — 340  feet 
above  the  sea.  The  bridge  of  boats  is  now  superseded 
by  the  railway  steamers  now  run  to  Calcutta,  and  barges 
to  Delhi.  The  letter-boxes  at  the  station  are  cleared 
by  peons. 

The  Hindoos  regard  Allahabad  (the  word  means  City 
of  Allah,  God)  as  an  exceedingly  holy  city,  surrounded 
as  it  is  by  the  two  sacred  rivers,  the  Jumna  and  Ganges, 
and,  as  is  alleged,  being  in  communication  with  the 
holy  city  of  Benares  by  a  subterranean  passage.  The 
Hindoo  showed  me  tlie  outlet  of  the  passage  at  Be- 
nares, but  I  have  m\'  strong  doubts  whether  any  one 
Cf>uld  pass  through  it,  now  that  it  is  obstructed  and  in 
ruin.  A  strong  and  hantlsome  fort  was  l)uilt  by  Akbar 
for  this  Ci'ly  of  God.  It  is  finely  ])laced  at  the  head  of 
the  Dooab,  or  country  between  the  two  ri\-ers.  The 
Muir  Uiiix'ersity  College,  for  the  cultivation  of  Oriental 
literature,  was  begun  in  1872.  Here  are  Sultaun  Khos- 
sor's  or  Kushru's  Caravanseri,  a  fine  clr)istered  cpiad- 
rangle,  some   old   tombs,  including  the   mausoleum  of 

(359) 


360  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  Ranee,  the  Jumna  Masjid,  and  other  mosques.  The 
fort  of  red  stone,  approached  by  a  very  fine  gate,  con- 
tains the  Residency  and  Akbar's  Palace  (now  a  depot 
and  armory)  and  the  Gada  pillar,  or  iron  ckib  of  Bhin 
Sen,  in  the  Chalee  Satoom  tem[)le,  over  a  sacred  cave 
much  visited  by  pilgrims,  said  to  have  a  subterranean 
passage  to  Benares,  traxerscd  by  a  third  river,  the 
Sereswati,  seen  onh'  by  the  faithful.  The  great  Mag 
Mela  fair  of  14th  of  December  is  much  frecjuentcd  by 
pilgrims,  who  come  here  as  to  a  holy  place,  because  of 
the  meeting  of  the  rivers.  The  Jumna  is  Soo  miles  long, 
coming  down  from  a  peak  of  the  IIimala}"as,  10,850 
feet  high.  Allahabad  is  said  to  mark  the  site  of  Pa/i- 
brotha,  or  rra}-aga.  The  city  is  j)retty,  the  streets 
wide,  and  large  trees  are  planted  on  each  side,  thus 
forming  beautiful  avenues,  which  afford  shelter  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun.  The  P^uropean  part  of  the  city, 
called  Canning  town,  built  since  the  mutin}-,  is  quite 
distinct  from  the  native  quarter,  from  which  it  is  sepa- 
rated by  the  East  India  Railway. 

Next  day,  by  rail,  I  went  to  Cawnpore,  the  frontier 
station  of  Oude,  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Ganges,  which  is  crossed  here  by  a  bridge  of  boats  to 
the  Oude  side,  1,600  yards  long.  This  city  is  brought 
into  conspicuous  notice  by  the  mutiny  of  1857.  It  has 
a  population  of  114,000  persons,  and  it  was  ceded  by 
the  Nabob  of  Oude  in  1801.  It  is  seated  on  a  hot  sandy 
plain,  but  the  soil  is  generally  good.  Here  are  the 
fort,  on  a  site  of  four  acres,  and  some  old  mosques.  It 
was  at  the  Suttee  Chowra  ghat  on  the  ri\ur,  that 
Wheeler's  garrison  embarke<l  on  the  17th  of  June,  all 
to  be  nearly  killed  by  an  ambuscade  planted  by  Nana 
Sahib  in  a  Hindoo  temple.  Only  four  escaped  the 
butchery — -Captains  Mowbray  and  Delafosse,  and  pri- 
vates Sullivan  and  Murphy,  who  swam  down  the  stream 


LUCKNOW.  361 

and  found  protection  with  Rajah  Dinbijah-Sing.  I 
went  to  see  jVIarochetti's  statue,  surrounded  by  an 
eight-sided  Gothic  screen,  which  covers  the  spot  where 
tlie  murdered  bodies  of  the  Company's  Christian  peo- 
ple, chiefly  women  and  children,  were  thrown  on  the 
17th  of  June.  This  monument  is  denominated  Memo- 
rial Well  in  the  Alemorial  (jarden.  Here  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  a  \-isit  from  Mr.  Antonio  Conte,  a  fellow-citi- 
zen from  Basilicata.  We  had  pleasant  conversations 
on  Itah'  and  India,  whither  he  expects  to  return  at  no 
distant  date. 

The  distance  from  Cawnpore  to  Lucknow  is  only 
fort}--t\v()  miles  on  the  h-ast  India  Railroad.  I  stopped 
at  Hu/,rutgunjee"s  Hotel,  kept  by  Hormusjee,  a  Mus- 
sulman. There  are  three  liotels,  and  I  as;3ume  this  to 
be  the  best.  Lucknow  is  by  no  means  a  handsome 
cit\',  though  at  a  distance  the  gilt  domes  of  the  mosques 
and  the  mausoleum  of  .Yzooph-ud-Uowlah,  give  it 
a  gay  appearance,  yet  its  situation  is  bad,  and  the  soil, 
being  a  white  sand,  which  in  hot  weather  is  driven 
about  by  the  wind,  pervading  everything,  makes  it  an 
unpleasant  residence  for  Europeans.  Lucknow,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Gumti,  was  the  old  capital  of  Oude,  then 
containing  a  population  of  500,000  i)eople,  but  now  it 
is  reduced  to  half  that  number.  There  is  a  Catholic 
church  and  a  con\'ent  and  two  priests,  one  of  whom 
attends  the  military  station,  th.e  other  the  convent. 
This  is  a  Mohammedan  city  of  modern  date;,  founded 
1775  b\'  the  Vizier-kiug  of  Oudc,  .Azoof-ud-Dowlah,  on 
moving  from  the  f)l(l  ca])ital  of  j-^yzabad,  which  is  a 
very  ancient  city  and  the  resi(K;nce  of  the  go\'ernors  or 
Nabobs  of  Oude.  The  streets  are  wi'v  irregular  and 
narrow  ;  some  of  the  hous(_'s  are  of  bi'ick,  but  most  of 
them  have  mud  walls  covered  with  tiles.  The  Gumti 
(or  Goomty)  is  navigable  for  middling-sized  vessels  at 
16 


362  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  JIEMI SPHERES. 

all  seasons.  There  are  three  bridges,  one  of  iron,  one 
of  stone,  and  one,  the  oldest,  of  boats. 

When  the  mutiny  broke  out  here  on  the  30th  of 
June,  1857,  tlis  English,  under  Sir  H.  Lawrence,  retired 
to  the  Muchee  Bawn,  or  old  fort,  an  untenable  post, 
from  which  they  went  to  the  Residency,  ist  July,  until 
relieved.  The  Residency  is  now  in  ruins,  and  is  close 
to  the  cemetery  in  which  Sir  H.  Lawrence,  Gen.  Neill, 
and  Major  Banks  are  buried. 

The  Kaiscrbagh  (or  Caesar's  garden),  now  occupied 
by  civil  servants,  was  built  in  1850,  for  ^^"800,000,  by  the 
ex-King  Wajid  Ali  Shah,  who  called  himself  Caisar,  and 
was  deposed  in  1856,  on  the  annexation  of  Oude,  and  pen- 
sioned at  Calcutta.  It  is  a  gorgeous  heap  of  domes, 
spires,  courts,  terraces,  and  fountains  still  showing 
marks  of  the  Avar  of  1857,  when  it  was  stormed  and 
plundered.  It  contains  a  gate,  having  the  double  fish, 
or  the  family  arms  on  it ;  the  Badshah  Munzil,  or  favor- 
ite apartments  of  the  great  king;  the  Chundiwalli 
Barndarri,  once  paved  with  silver;  and  the  Luckee  gate 
(which  cost  a  lac  of  rupees:  ;^io,ooo).  Near  this  are 
the  Kaiser  Pusana,  where  the  English  prisoners  were 
executed;  an  engine-house  where  four  hundred  Sepoys 
were  burnt  in  the  fight ;  Khoorsid  Munzil  (or  house  of 
the  sun^,  with  four  spires,  etc. 

The  Iinamnharra,  dedicated  to  Azooph-ud-DowIah,  is 
another  remarkable  pile  of  spires  and  domes,  and  now 
turned  by  the  English  into  an  arsenal  and  storehouses. 
It  is  a  picturesque  series  of  courts  round  a  central  court, 
all  of  tessellated  marble,  in  the  Saracenic  style.  l"he 
Justice  Hall  is  the  largest  roofed  edifice,  without  pil- 
lars, in  the  world.  There  are  three  aisles  supported  by 
Cyclopean  pilasters,  and  a  gilded  gate,  the  Roome  Dur- 
waza,  on  the  side  toward  Constantinople,  or  Room 
(Rome),  as  the  Orientals  call  it.     There  was  a  silver 


MARTINIERE  COLLEGE.  363 

throne  here.  Near  it  is  the  great  mosque,  Jiunna  Mus- 
j'id,  150  feet  high,  now  turned  into  a  jail;  also  the 
Hoseinabad;  or  small  Imaumbarra,  and  its  mausoleum 
of  Mohammed  Ali  Shah,  the  third  king  (died  1841), 
whose  unfinished  mosque  is  still  seen. 

In  the  afternoon,  accompanied  by  the  son  of  my 
host,  I  drove  to  the  JMartiiiicrc  College — a  fantastically- 
ornamented  building,  topped  by  a  dome  and  four 
towers,  built  by  Claude  Martin,  a  Frenchman,  who  en- 
tered the  company's  service  as  a  trooper,  and  died  a 
rich  general,  1800,  leaving  his  money  for  educational 
uses.  It  has  marble  floors,  a  labyrinth  of  small  rooms, 
a  museum,  and  the  founder's  richly-ornamented  tomb 
at  the  top.  I  was  allowed  to  descend  some  flights  of 
stairs,  and  in  company  of  the  keeper  of  the  grave,  enter 
the  vault,  which  is  kept  locked  and  barred  by  a  heavy 
iron  door.  Of  course  I  gave  the  keeper  half  a  rupee 
for  his  trouble  in  opening  both  the  iron  gate  and  door, 
and  for  the  use  of  a  candle.  Then  we  drove  to  the 
Secunder  Bagh,  a  palace  of  the  Begum  Hu-zat  Mahul, 
to  the  Nuzeef  Ashruf,  the  tomb  of  the  first  vizier 
(marked  by  a  white  dome),  both  near  the  Goomtee  and 
the  horticultural  gardens;  also  the  tomb  of  the  second 
vizier,  Saadat  Ali,  under  a  high  dome  and  galleries  ; 
and  his  half  Italian-looking  country-seat  of  Dilkooslia 
(or  heart's  delight),  with  its  gilt  towers  and  park.  At 
Aluinbagh  (or  Queen's  Garden),  where  Outram  fixed 
his  camp,  is  the  grave  of  Havelock  (1857).  The  soil 
round  Lucknow  is  some  of  the  richest  and  most  thickl)' 
populated  in  India.  By  the  night  train  I  left  for  Agra, 
where  I  arrived  at  6.30  A.M.,  and  drove  to  Harrison's 
Hotel,  to  whose  proprietors  I  had  letters  of  recommen- 
dation. 

After  breakfast  I  took  a  guide  and  drove  to  the  lion 
of  the  place,  the  world-renowned  Taj  Mahal  (or  Crown 


3^4 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


of  Edifices),  the  unrivaled  mausoleum,  built  by  Shah 
Jehan,  for  his  beautiful  queen  Moomtaza  Zumanee  (or 
the  Light  of  the  W'orldi,  at  tlie  end  of  the  Strand  Road, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Jumna,  rather  more  than  a  mile  to 
the  eastward  of  Fort  Agra.  Oh,  what  a  great  sight 
iiere  I     A  graceful,  domed   structure  of  polished  white 


;  ^i  v/j^^^^-^''i  'iS ' '' ' '  '7*1  rill  1  rSf|^S»ii5" 


mwM^Wm^'U  'mi- 


'J'AJ     MAIiAI. 


marble,  as  fresh  as  when  first  l)iiilt,  carcfull}-  finished  in 
every  part,  and  decorated  with  rich  mosaics  on  a  ^\■hite 
ground,  inlaid  with  jasper,  agate,  carnelian,  and  other 
precious  stones  ;  the  work  of  h'lorcntine  artists,  about 
1630,  some  of  whom  arc  buried  in  the  Catholic  cathe- 
dral. The  tombs  of  the  Emperor  and  his  queen  lie 
under  the  central  dome,  inside  an   octagonal  screen  of 


THE   TAy  MAHAL.  365 

arabesque  work,  24  feet  each  side.  The  gardens  con- 
tain fine  old  trees  and  fountains  and  reservoirs,  within 
walls,  964  feet  by  329  feet.  The  mausoleum  in  the 
middle  stands  on  a  marble  terrace,  400  feet  square,  60 
feet  high;  it  is  190  feet  square,  with  minarets  lOO  feet 
high  at  each  corner,  over  which  rises  the  gilt  central 
dome,  260  feet  high,  and  70  feet  in  diameter.  The  cost 
was  i^3,oco,ooo.  It  is  said  that  there  were  two  silver 
doors  at  the  entrance  of  the  Taj,  stated  to  have  cost 
127,000  rupees,  which  were  studded  with  1,000  nails, 
each  having  a  head  made  of  a  Sonat  Rupee ;  these 
gates  were  taken  away  and  melted  down  by  the  Jats 
when  they  attacked  and  sacked  Agra. 

The  labor  was  all  forced,  and  \cr\'  little  payment 
made  in  cash  to  the  twent\'  thousand  workmen  who 
were  employed  for  twent\'-two  \'ears  ;  an  allowance  of 
corn  was  daily  given  them,  but  even  this  was  carefully 
curtailed  by  the  rapacious  officials  placed  over  them. 
There  was  great  distress  and  frightful  mortality  among 
them  ;  and  the  peasantry  around  .Vgra  certainl)-  did 
not  worship  the  memor\-  of  the  innocent  empress. 
The  poet  describes  them  to  have  cried  out  — 

"  Have  mercy,  (jcd,  on  our  distress, 
For  we  die,  too,  with  the  princess." 

The  mosque  was  built  in  the  name  of  the  Princess 
Juhanura,  who  is  famous  for  her  dex'otion  to  her  father, 
whose  ca[)tivity  she  shared  when  he  was  de[)osed  h\- 
his  son,  Aurungzeb.  We  drtne  to  the  fort.  Here  I 
wish  to  state  that  the  uKJSt  precious  monuments  are 
general!}'  in  the  extensive  forts  now  occupied  b\'  I~Ji- 
giish  garrisons,  where  are  arsenals,  modern  fortifications, 
and  troops.  There  is  no  diffictilt)-  for  strangers,  especi- 
all}'  I'Luropeans,  to  get  adnn'ssion  ;  but  S(,'l(l(jm,  if  ever, 
arc  natives  allowed  to  enter  tium,  and  it  is  onl\-  in  some 


366  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

few  places  that  they  allow  carriages  to  enter  on  account 
of  the  native  drivers. 

The  fort  is  the  central  object  of  Agra.  It  is  an  im- 
posing structure  with  vast  red  walls  and  flanking  de- 
fenses, surmounted  everywhere  by  bee-hive  crcnclla- 
tions.  Built  by  the  Emperor  Akbar,  it  is  constructed 
of  red  granite  (or  sandstone)  about  two  miles  in  circuit, 
on  the  river  Jumna.  In  front  of  the  principal  entrance 
is  a  walled  square  still  used  as  a  market-place.  Oppo- 
site the  gate  of  the  fort  is  the  Jiinina  (Juma)  Musjid,  or 
Cathedral  mosque — one  of  the  earliest  Mogul  mosques 
built  by  Akbar,  before  the  style  had  lost  its  originality 
and  vigor.  The  w-alls  of  the  fort  are  nearly  seventy 
feet  high.  We  passed  into  the  inner  entrance,  consist- 
ing of  two  octagonal  towers  of  red  sandstone,  inlaid 
with  ornamentals  in  white  marble.  The  passage  be- 
tween them  is  covered  by  two  domes  which  seem  to 
rise  from  accretions  of  prismatic  stalactites,  as  in  the 
domes  of  the  Moorish  Alhambra.  Over  the  blank,  red 
walls  in  front,  you  see  three  marble  domes  glittering  in 
the  sunshine  like  new-fallen  snow;  and  still  further,  the 
golden  pinnacles  of  Akbar's  palace,  and  these  objects 
assert  that  your  dream  of  the  magnificence  of  the  Great 
Mogul  has  not  been  entirely  dispelled.  The  great  bar- 
bican opposite  the  mosque  is  known  as  the  Delhi 
Gate.  From  this  A\e  passed  into  the  Dcivaii-i-ani  for 
Public  Audience  Ilall).  This  forms  the  front  of  the 
palace.  The  vast  court  on  which  it  opens  \\  as  the  Car- 
rousel, or  Tilt-yard.  In  the  cloisters,  on  three  oi  its 
sides,  the  general  public  sat ;  while  the  AJidccs,  or  h'.x- 
empts  of  the  Guard,  paraded  in  full  panoply;  and  the 
led  horses,  elephants,  and  fighting  animals  were  exhib- 
ited to  the  Emperor  and  his  nobles,  as  they  sat  in  the 
open  hall.  The  hall  was  protected  from  profane  con- 
tact by  a  red  rail;    admission    within   which   being   a 


THE  PALACE  OF  AGRA.  367 

great  priv-ilcge.  The  monarch  sat  on  his  throne,  raised — - 
as  we  still  see  it — on  an  estrade  surrounded  with  marble 
inlay.  At  the  foot  of  the  above,  on  which  this  throne 
is  placed,  is  a  slab  of  marble,  and  here,  according  to 
tradition,  Akbar  took  his  stand  in  administering  justice. 

Passing  right  and  left  are  grated 'passages  which  ad- 
mitted the  ladies  to  view  the  proceedings — Durbari, 
receptions  and  trials — -which  took  place  within  the  hall. 
.At  the  back  of  the  throne  a  door  admitted  the  Emperor 
and  his  confidential  adherents  into  the  Muchcc  BJioivan 
leading  to  the  more  private  precincts  of  the  palace, 
which  reminded  me  of  the  Alhambra,  and  also  of  a  pal- 
ace of  fairies.  It  was  the  public  hall,  or  court  recep- 
tion and  business  place  of  the  palace.  Some  visitors 
criticise  it  for  not  being  larger,  as  might  be  expected 
from  such  Einperors  as  the  Moghuls,  it  being  far  inferior 
in  grandeur  to  Westminster  Hall.  The  interior  dimen- 
sions are  192  feet  by  61,  but  the  roof  is  supported  by 
colonnades.  This  was  the  place  where  Shah  Jehan  was 
confined  by  his  son  Aurungzcb. 

The  palace  is  indeed  interesting  and  beautiful — in- 
teresting as  a  monument  of  the  domestic  life  of  the 
past,  and  beautiful  as  a  specimen  of  pure  domestic 
Saracenic  art.  This  palace  of  Agra  is  considered  to  be 
perhaps  more  interesting  than  that  of  Delhi,  being 
wholly  of  the  best  age. 

The  old  cit)'  walls,  extending  seven  miles  by  three, 
take  in  many  remains  of  suburban  palaces,  baths, 
mosfjues,  the  mausoleum  of  Edmadood  Dowla  and 
other  tombs,  Hindoo  temi)les,  and  a  tank,  now  dry, 
about  fift^'-three  feet  square.  There  arc  two  h.andsome 
tombs  on  the  Secundra  road,  beyond  which  is  the 
MmisoUuiJi  of  AJdxir,  on  massive  arches,  twelve  feet 
thick,  surrounded  by  a  piazza,  and  pleasure  gardens 
of  orange,  banana,  tamarind,  peepul,  and  other  trees. 


368  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

The  substructures  of  the  palace  are  of  red  sandstone, 
but  nearly  the  whole  of  its  corridors,  chambers,  and 
pavilions  are  of  white  marble,  wrought  with  the  most 
exquisite  elaboration  of  ornament.  The  pavilions 
overhanging  the  river  are  inlaid,  within  and  without,  in 
the  rich  style  of  Florentine  mosaic.  They  are  precious 
caskets  of  marble,  glittering  all  over  with  Jasper,  agate, 
carnelian,  bloodstone,  and  lapsi-lazuli,  and  topped  with 
golden  domes.  Balustrades  of  marble,  wrought  in  open 
patterns  of  such  rich  design  that  they  resemble  fringes 
of  lace  when  seen  from  below,  extend  along  the  edge  of 
the  battlement.  The  J.umna  washes  the  walls  seventy 
feet  below,  and  from  the  balconies  attached  to  the 
zenana  (or  women's  apartments),  there  are  beautiful 
views  of  the  gardens  and  palm  groves  on  the  opposite 
bank,  and  that  wonder  of  India,  the  Taj,  shining  like  a 
palace  of  ivor>'  and  crystal,  about  a  mile  down  the 
river.  The  most  curious  part  of  the  palace  is  the 
Shish-Mahal  (or  Shish-Mclal,  palace  of  glass) — Shah 
Julian's  palace,  which  is  an  Oriental  bath,  whose  pass- 
ages and  chambers  are  adorned  with  thousands  of 
small  mirrors,  disposed  in  the  most  intricate  designs. 

Shah  Juhan's  mosque,  called  Motec  ]\Iusjid  (or  Pearl 
Mosque),  is  of  pure  white  marble,  and  is  truly  the  pearl 
of  mosques  of  small  dimensions ;  it  is  in  the  purest 
Saracenic  architecture.  From  without  nothing  can  be 
seen  but  its  three  domes  of  white  marble  and  gilded 
spires.  In  all  distant  views  of  the  fort  these  domes  are 
seen  like  silvery  bubbles  which  have  rested  a  moment 
on  its  walls,  and  which  a  breeze  will  sweep  away.  The 
large  Jumna  Musjid  (called  also,  I  believe,  Shahjuha- 
nabad),  is  marked  by  three  domes.  The  inscription  in 
front  tells  that  it  was  built  by  Shah  Juhan  in  1654.  In 
front  of  the  KJias  MiiJiul,  a  little  stair  and  door  leads 
down  into  a  labyrinth  of  underground  buildings,  prob- 


AGRA—AKBAR'S  TOMB.  369 

ably  intended  as  a  retreat  in  the  summer,  and  it  is 
called  the  Well-house, 

The  road  by  which  the  old  Moghuls  used  to  go  north- 
ward to  Lahore  and  Cashmere,  passed  north-west  by  an 
arch  of  red  stone  and  a  bastion,  the  remains  of  the 
enceinte.  The  tomb  of  the  Emperor  Ukbur  (or  Akbar) 
is  at  Secundra,  a  small  village,  about  five  miles  from 
Agra.  It  is  a  beautiful  five-storied  building,  the  upper 
chamber  being  of  white  marble,  with  lattice  windows,  and 
crowned  by  four  small  Kiosques.  This  tomb  is  much 
worshiped,  both  by  Moors  and  Gentiles,  who  hold  him 
in  great  reverence.  It  took  ten  years  to  build  it.  The 
word  Sekundra  (or  Sikundra)  probably  was  given  from 
Sikundur  Lodi,  who  died  about  that  time,  and  who  had, 
as  it  is  said,  a  villa  here. 

Futtehpore  Sikri — the  favorite  residence  of  Akbar, 
twenty-five  miles  from  Agra  on  the  Jeypore  road— is  a 
magnificent  spot,  where  there  is  a  cluster  of  splendid 
buildings,  which  are  Ukbur's  (Akbar)  palace,  Beerbul's 
palace,  a  cave — tomb  of  the  saint — a  Greek  mosque,  etc. 

Agra,  the  old  scat  of  Emperor  Akbar  (Ukbur),  and 
the  late  capital  of  the  north-west  provinces,  till  the  re- 
moval to  Allahabad,  stands  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Jumna,  and  is  about  four  miles  by  three  miles  in  cir- 
cuit, and  contains  a  population  of  143,000  persons,  who, 
except  the  Europeans,  are  nearly  all  heathen.  In  con- 
versation with  some  Catholic  missionaries,  I  was  told 
that,  except  the  European  Catholics,  who  are  Govern- 
ment officials  and  soldiers,  very  few  natives  are  Chris- 
tians. They  also  remarked  that  in  India  there  are  too 
many  bishops  (Vicars-Ai)ost<)lic),  and  that  fewer  would 
answer  better.  The  entire  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Agra, 
containing  millions  of  people,  has  only  14,300  Catholics, 
mostly,  if  not  all,  British  officers  and  soldiers. 

In  Gwalior,  or  Scindia's  territory,  in  the  north-west 
16* 


3;o 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


provinces,  sixty-five  miles  south  of  Agra,  is  the  seat  of  the 
Maharajah  Scindia,  styled  Scindia  of  Givalior,  from  his 
Mahratta  ancestor,  Scindia,  who  reigned  here,  1779.  A 
fort  was  begun  here  A.D.  773.  The  present  noble-look- 
ing pile,  one  mile  long,  stands  on  a  precipitous  sand- 


lOKT    OF    GWAI.TOR,  INDIA. 


stone  hill,  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  feet  above  the 
plain,  near  the  river  Sooiumirfckn,  and  is  surrounded  by 
picturesque  embattled  walls  and  towers  three  ■miles  in 
circuit.  At  the  south-east  corner,  Scindia  is  building  a 
palace  called  LusJikur,  in  the  Italian  stxlc,  one  hundred 
and  seventy-six;  yards  by  one  hundred  and  forty  two  \'ards. 
In  one  part  of  the  cliff  is  a  figure  (jf  Parswanath,  forty 
feet  high.  At  the  Forth  are  the  residency,  the  Mahar- 
ajah's old  palace,  a  gun  foundry,  a  ruined  Jain  temple, 
and  the  Thaileeka-Lath,  built  by  a  rich  oil  man,  a  Jum- 
ma  Musjid,  and  other  mosques,  and  several  tanks.    This 


DELHI.  371 

is  one  of  the  greatest  seats  of  the  Mahrattas,  whose 
language  is  spoken  all  round  here. 

At  9.50  A.M.  I  left  for  Allyghur,  a  city  of  30,000 
inhabitants  in  Dooab,  where  there  is  a  fort  taken  by 
Lord  Lake,  1803,  and  from  the  Sepoys,  1858.  At  Ally- 
ghur, a  branch  railroad  runs  to  Moradab,  where  trav- 
elers for  Almorah  must  take  the  stage.  Almorah  is  the 
capital  of  Kumaoon,  seat  of  a  commissioner,  in  the  north- 
west provinces,  and  a  hill  station  in  the  Himalayas, 
5,340  feet  above  the  sea.  This  small  town  of  6,200  per- 
sons belonged  to  the  Ghoorkas  for  a  time,  and  there  is 
an  old  palace  of  the  Rajahs.  The  snowy  peaks  of  the 
Himalayas  are  ten  stages  distant,  20,000  to  23,000  feet 
above  the  sea.  There  is  a  pass  over  them,  18,000  feet 
high,  to  Lake  Mansarowar,  in  Thibet,  the  sacred  lake, 
at  or  near  which  the  great  holy  rivers  Ganges,  Indus, 
and  Brahmapootra  rise.  Pilgrimages  are  performed  to 
this  lake. 

At  Delhi  I  took  my  lodging  at  Lord  Lytton's  not 
ver)-  inviting  hotel.  I  was  obliged  to  use  a  clean  shirt 
to  cover  the  pillow  of  my  bed.  There  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  meeting  a  Baltimorean  gentleman  with  his  wife, 
traveling  through  India.  I  had  also  the  happiness  of 
making  the  acquaintance  of  a  highl\--educated  Mussul- 
man, Judge  Hassan-El-Medini,  who  was  sto{)])ing  at  the 
same  hotel.  He  belonged  to  Kurachcc,  but  had  been 
sent  for  to  come  to  Delhi,  in  order  to  be  one  of  the 
superindendents  of  the  Mussulmans  at  tlie  coronation 
of  Oucen  Victoria  as  I'Lmpress  of  India.  In  com])any 
with  a  Scotch  gentleman  and  a  German  lady,  I  and 
Judge  Hassan- I'd- Mcdini,  f(jrmed  a  part)'.  We  en- 
gaged a  double  team  carriage,  and  arranged  to  start 
next  morning  at  six  o'clock,  but  it  rained  so  heavily 
that  we  could  not  venture  out  of  the  hotel  {ox  the 
whole  mornin<r. 


372 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


At  noon  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  we  all  went  to 
see  the  city.  The  first  object  to  which  we  directed  our- 
selves was  the  jftimna  Musjid,  the  most  famous  mosque 
in  the  East.  It  stands  about  half-way  between  the  Cash- 
mere and  Delhi  Gates  of  the  city,  and  close  to  the  cele- 
brated street  called  the  CJiandncc-Chozvk.  It  is  built  on 
a  rocky  eminence  (called  Jiijala  PaJiar)  or  court,  450 
feet  square.     It  has  three  entrances  by  handsome  gate- 


ways of  red  sandstone,  accessible  by  magnificent  fiights 
of  steps  of  the  same  material.  The  mosque  is  of  white 
marble  and  red  granite,  201  feet  in  length  (ethers  say 
261)  and  120  feet  broad,  and  surmounted  by  three  su- 
perb cupolas  of  white  marble,  crowned  with  spires  of 
copper  richly  gilt.  The  mosque  is  flanked  by  two  min- 
arets 130  feet  high,  accessible  by  narrow  steps.     Three 


THE  ROYAL  PALACE  FORT.  373 

sides  of  the  terrace,  on  which  this  magnificent  edifice 
stands,  are  inclosed  by  a  colonnade  of  sandstone.  In 
the  quadrangle  at  the  north-east  and  south-east,  are  low 
pillars,  on  the  top  of  which  are  fixed  marble  slabs;  on 
one  is  engraved  the  Eastern  hemisphere,  on  the  other 
certain  hour  lines ;  each  has  an  upright  iron  spike  or 
gnomon,  and  the  shadows  shown  by  the  sun  indicate 
to  the  Mussulmans  the  time  of  prayer.  This  grand  edi- 
fice was  commenced  and  finished  in  Shah  Jehan's  reign, 
A.D.  1629-58,  and  it  is  said  to  have  cost  over  ;^  100,000, 
and  to  have  cmplo}-ed  a  daily  average  of  5,000  work 
men  for  six  years.  There  is  a  large  well  or  tank,  into 
which  the  natives,  for  a  trifle,  will  dive,  legs  first,  from 
a  gallery  forty  feet  above  the  water. 

We  rode  to  the  Fort,  or  the  old  Royal  Palace.  It  is 
furnished  with  two  fine  entrances,  named  respectively 
the  Delhi  and  Lahore  gateways,  and  it  is  inclosed  by  a 
lofty,  embattled,  red  granite  wall,  a  little  over  a  mile 
round.  New  works  for  strengthening  the  fort  are  in 
progress.  It  contains  the  Dcivan  A'a;ji  (or  Hall  of 
Public  Audience),  now  a  museum  (or  canteen).  It  is  a 
beautiful  structure,  open  at  three  sides,  and  supported 
by  rows  of  red  sandstone  pillars.  In  the  wall  at  the 
back  is  a  staircase  that  leads  up  to  the  throne,  which  is 
raised  about  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  and  is  covered 
b\-  a  canopy  supported  on  four  pillars  of  white  marble, 
the  whole  curiously  inlaid  with  mosaic  work;  behind 
the  throne  is  a  door-way  by  which  the  iMnperor  entered 
from  his  pri\ate  apartments.  The  \\hole  of  the  wall 
behind  the  throne  is  covered  with  mosaic  paintings  in 
precious  stones  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers, 
fruits,  birds,  and  beasts  of  Ilindostan.  They  were 
executed  by  Austin  de  Bordeaux,  who,  after  defraud- 
ing several  of  the  princes  of  I'Airope  by  means  of  false 
gems,   which    he    fabricated   with    great   skill,   sought 


374  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

refuge  at  the  court  of  Shah  Jchan,  where  he  made  his 
fortune,  and  was  in  high  favor  with  the  Emperor.  I 
saw  several  workmen  repairing  these  mosaic  paintings, 
and  they  handed  to  me. some  flowers  and  birds,  and 
some  morsels  of  them,  to  examine  the  precious  stones, 
of  which  they  were  made.  It  was  here  that  the  famous 
Peacock  Throne  stood, "^  so  called  from  its  having  the 
figures  of  two  peacocks  standing  behind  it,  their  tails 
being  expanded,  and  the  whole  so  inlaid  with  sapphires, 
rubies,  emeralds,  pearls,  and  other  precious  stones  of 
appropriate  colors.  The  throne  itself  was  six  feet  long 
by  four  feet  broad  ;  it  stood  on  six  massive  feet,  which 
with  the  body  were  of  solid  gold,  inlaid  with  rubies, 
emeralds,  and  diamonds.  It  was  surmounted  by  a 
canopy  of  gold  supported  by  twelve  pillars,  all  richly 
emblazoned  with  costly  gems,  and  a  fringe  of  pearls 
ornamented  the  borders  of  the  canopy.  Between  the 
two  peacocks  stood  the  figure  of  a  parrot  of  the  ordi- 
nary size,  said  to  have  been  carved  out  of  a  single  emer- 
ald. On  either  side  of  the  throne  stood  a  cJiatta  or 
umbrella  (one  of  the  Oriental  emblems  of  royalty), 
formed  of  crimson  velvet,  richly  embroidered  and 
fringed  with  pearls  ;  the  handles  were  eight  feet  high, 
of  solid  gold,  and  studded  with  diamonds.  The  cost 
was  ;^6,ooo,ooo. 

There  is  now  nothing  left  of  it.  It  was  taken  away 
by  Nadir  Shah,  the  Persian  conqueror,  \\ho,  liaving  de- 
feated Emperor  Mohammed  Shah,  at  Kurnaul,  A.D. 
1739,  plundered  Delhi  too,  and  nearly  the  entire 
treasury. 

The  Dewan  Khass,  or  Private  Council  Chamber,  was 
set  apart  for  the  reception  of  the  nobility.    It  is  a  bcau- 


*  Some  say  that  the  Peacock  Throne  stood  in  the  Hall  of  Ft-ivafe 
Audience  (just  close  to  the  Hall  of  Public  Audience),  or  Dcwhan  Kass. 


VISITING  THE  ANTIQUITIES.  375 

tiful  pavilion  of  moderate  size,  covered  with  white 
marble  richly  ornamented  with  flowers  of  inlaid  mosaic 
work  of  different  colored  stones  and  gilding,  supported 
on  massive  marble  pillars.  The  ceiling  of  the  pavilion 
was  originally  completely  encrusted  with  silver  filagree 
work;  but  in  1759  the  Mahrattas,  under  Sedasheo 
Bhao,  after  the  capture  of  the  city,  took  this  down  and 
melted  it,  the  value  of  the  same  being  estimated  at 
iS" 1 70,000.  In  the  cornice,  at  each  end  of  the  interior 
hall,  is  sculptured,  in  letters  of  gold  and  in  the  Persian 

language — - 

"  If  there  is  paradise  upon  earth, 
It  is  this,  it  is  this."* 

The  Moti  Mnsjid  (or  the  Pearl  Mosque)  is  a  small, 
but  beautifully  finished  edifice  of  white  marble  used  by 
the  royal  family,  and  it  is  the  Emperor's  private  mosque, 
with  the  queen's  and  ladies'  bath-rooms,  pavilions, 
gardens,  and  fountains.  Much  of  the  gold  and  inlaid 
work  was  picked  out  in  the  mutiny  ;  but  the  Govern- 
ment is  fast  restoring  it. 

Our  carriage  gave  way;  it  had  been  tied  with  a 
string,  and  we  were  obliged  to  continue  our  researches 
on  foot.  In  a  tomb  of  a  Mussulman,  some  were  pray- 
ing by  reading  the  Koran.  In  another  tomb,  wc  were 
not  allowed  to  step  in  until  we  removed  our  shoes;  in 
another  we  found  a  Mussulman  teaching  five  or  six 
boys  to  learn  the  Koran  by  heart,  and  wc  were  not  per- 
mitted to  touch  it. 

The  excursion  for  the  next  day  was  to  visit  the 
Kootub  Minar  and  other  anticiuities  out  of  the  city, 
hence  wc  arranged  to  start  at  6  A.M.  lUit,  alas!  it  was 
near  6  A.M.,  and  in  the  hotel  there  was  a  stillness  and 
silence    of    death !     No    breakfast  !     no    carriages !     no 

*  Others  translate,  "  And,  oh,  if  there  be  an  clysium,"  etc. 


376  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

servants !  no  landlady !  and  her  two  daughters  were 
yet  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus !  The  German  lady  and 
Scotch  gentleman  were  seated  at  the  breakfast-table, 
but  having  nothing  to  eat  or  drink,  while  I,  and  Judge 
Hassan-El-Medini,  tried  to  rouse  the  household.  He 
went  in  the  back-yard  to  awake  the  landlady  and  her 
daughters,  and  I  into  the  front  yard  to  awake  the 
servants,  to  achieve  which  we  made  all  possible  noise  ; 
hallooing,  stamping  with  the  feet,  etc.,  till  we  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  them  out  of  bed  and  out  of  their 
rooms,  to  prepare  breakfast,  which  was  not  ready  till 
6.30  A.M.,  and  the  carriages  that  were  to  be  on  hand  at 
6,  came  only  at  7  A.M. 

First  of  all  we  stopped  to  sec  the  Asoka  Pillar  (gran- 
ite), 44  feet  high,  near  the  Delhi  gate,  erected  270  B.C., 
and  having  a  Pali  inscription  on  it  ;  the  Shahlinar 
Palace,  near  the  English  quarter ;  Fcrozeshah's  citadel 
on  the  Jumna,  a  Patau  fortress,  having  some  old  in- 
scriptions ;  the  Emperor  Huinajoon  s  tomb,  of  square 
red  stone,  and  Hall  of  sixty-four  pillars,  with  a  marble 
dome ;  the  Rajah  of  Jeypore's  old  observatory,  or 
Juntcr  Milliter,  consisting  of  two  stone  ovals  and  a 
great  dial-like  flight  of  steps;  the  Nizam-ood-deen's 
mausoleum,  and  a  large  and  fine  one  dedicated  to  Saf- 
dar,  or  Sufder  Jung,  ancestor  of  the  kings  of  Oude. 
One  tomb  marks  the  grave  of  the  author  of  Bagh-o- 
Bahar. 

We  passed  among  the  remains  of  old  streets,  palaces, 
serais,  tombs,  and  ruins,  which  are  seen  for  miles  and 
miles,  till  we  reached  the  famous  Kootub  Minar,  the  high- 
est pillar  in  the  world.  It  is  situated  about  ele\'en 
miles  from  Delhi,  on  the  road  from  Delhi  to  Goorgaon. 
It  has  suffered  much  from  earthquakes,  wliich  have 
caused  it  to  lean  over  a  little,  and  lightning  has  done 
its  share;  but  in  1826  the  British  Government  had  it 


THE  KOOTUB  MINAR. 


377 


put  into  thorouL^h  repair,  and  set  on  it  a  lit^htning-rod. 
It  was  built  b\'  Sultan  Shams-ood-dccn  ;  it  is  a  slender 
pile  of  carved  red  stone,  with  five  galleries,  150  feet 
round  at  the  base,  249  feet  high  to  the  marble  cupola 


^  mz^fj^ 


KOun  11    MINAK,    lUlI.III,     INIJIA. 


at  the  top.  'I'lu,-  Kootub  Aliiiar  is  chai'iniiigK'  situated 
among  ruins  and  grass-lands;  379  sti-ps,  in  excellent 
repair,  built  of  Kliarra  stf^ne.  I'his  ciij^ola,  an  octago- 
nal stone  pavilion,  was  put  up  over  the  Miliar  by  Major 


378 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


Smith,  of  the  Engineers,  who  had  the  superintendence 
of  the  repairs  of  the  Kootub,  but  it  was  taken  down  by 
the  order  of  the  Government.  It  is  now  placed  on  a 
raised  plot  of  ground  in  front  of  the  long  colonnade 
which  runs  from  the  })il!ar  to  the  cast.  It  was  built  in 
1826.  The  top  can  be  reached  by  spiral  stairs.  The 
view  from  the  galleries  is  grand,  and  that  from  the  top 
is  most  magnificent.  I  did  not  attempt  to  look  from 
the  top  down  to  the  base  for  fear  of  giddiness,  but  I 
enjoyed  the  view  of  all  the  countr}'  round  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach  ;  tombs,  mausoleums,  half-destroyed 
cities,  old  and  fallen  forts,  and  ruined  ancient  Imperial 
palaces.  Near  it  is  an  unfinished  pillar  (minar),  40  feet 
high.  This  unfinished  minar  is  425  feet  from  the 
Kootub  Minar,  and  in  round  terms  may  be  said  to  be 
of  twice  the  dimensions  of  the  latter.  It  was  com- 
menced A.D.  131 1.  Shah  Alum's  tomb,  who  died  in 
1806;  and  the  tomb  of  Shams-ood-dcen,  chxsc  to  Rajah 
Pithora's  Iron  Pillar.  This  Iron  Pillar  is  one  of  the 
most  curious  monuments  in  India.  It  is  a  solid  shaft 
of  mixed  metal,  upwards  of  16  inches  in  diameter.  The 
total  height  of  the  pillar  from  the  ground  is  26  feet 
(some  say  22  feet).  It  was  probably  erected  by  Rajah 
Dhava  in  319;  this  sovereign's  name  is  imprinted  on 
it.  From  excavations  made  in  1871,  the  bottom  of 
this  pillar  was  found  to  be  shaped  like  a  flat  turnip, 
and  to  terminate  about  three  feet  below  the  present 
ground  level.  This  turnip  root  of  the  pillar  rests  oji 
eight  pieces  of  iron,  which  are  fixed  with  lead  into 
blocks  of  stone,  at  equal  intervals  apart.  A  bamboo 
stick  was  passed  completely  underneath  the  pillar. 
The  native  legend  is  this  :  Rajah  Pithora,  dreading 
the  fall  of  his  dynasty,  consulted  the  Brahmins  as  to 
what  steps  should  be  taken  to  insure  its  continuance. 
He  was  informed  that  if  he  sunk  an  iron  shaft  into  the 


LEGEND  OF  THE  IRON  PILLAR. 


379 


ground,  and  managed  to  pierce  the  head  of  the  snake- 
god,  Lishay,  who  supported  the  world,  his  kingdom 
would  endure  forever.  The  pillar  was  accordingly  con- 
structed, and  the  directions  of  the  Brahmins  implicitly 
obeyed.  How  long  the  shaft  remained  undisturbed,  is 
not  said  ;  but  the  Rajah,  either  distrusting  the  Brah- 
mins, or  desirous  of  seeing  for  himself  whether  the 
snake  had  been  touched,  contrary  to  the  entreaties  of 
the  priests,  had  the  pillar  taken  up.  To  the  surprise  of 
the  spectators  and  the  consternation  of  the  sovereign, 
the  end  of  it  was  found  covered  with  blood,  and  the 
Rajah  was  informed  that  his  dynasty  would  shortly 
cease.  He  ordered  the  pillar  to  be  again  inserted  in 
the  ground,  but  the  serpent  below  appears  to  have  had 
enough  of  cold  iron,  and  the  Brahmins  declared  that 
the  sceptre  would  soon  pass  away  from  the  hands  of 
the  Hindoo  sovereign.  The  charm  was  at  all  events 
broken,  for  Shahab-ood-ecn  shortly  after  wrested  from 
Pithora  his  life  and  his  kingdom,  and  from  that  day  to 
this  no  Hindoo  king  has  ever  ruled  in  Delhi. 

This  pillar,  surrounded  by  cloisters  formed  of  several 
rows  of  Hindoo  columns  of  infinite  variety  and  design, 
and  of  most  delicate  execution,  is  in  the  midst  of  a 
cloistered  court  145  feet  in  length,  and  96  feet  in 
breadth.  This  court  forms  the  entrance  to  the  Great 
Mosque  (Jumna  Musjid).  The  walls  of  this  Great 
Mosque,  or  combination  of  mosques,  are  of  C\'clopean 
masonry;  the  fronts  are  pierced  b\'  fi\'e  arches  each, 
the  middle  arch  being  24  feet  span.  At  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  Kootub  grounds,  and  about  the  roatl,  lies 
the  tomb  of  Shumsh-oodeen  Altoinsh. 

We  had  ordered  dinner  at  the  dak  bungalow,  and 
we  found  it  very  good,  especially  after  so  much  going 
up  and  down.  Judge  Hassan-Kl-Medini  was  charged  to 
settle  the  bills  for  all  of  us.     The  man  who  had  the 


380  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

care  of  the  bungalow,  charged  for  the  time  that  we  had 
occupied  the  bungalow,  stating  that  such  was  the  regula- 
tion. Judge  Hassan-El-Mcdini  called  for  the  rules,  and 
having  found  that  the  rules  spoke  of  those  who  had  oc- 
cupied the  bungalow  for  a  certain  number  of  hours,  spat 
at  the  book  containing  the  rules,  threw  it  away  in  a 
rage,  reproached  the  man  for  trying  to  impose  on  him, 
and  we  went  to  continue  our  visits  to  other  antiquities 
not  far  from  this  spot. 

Wc  passed  again  by  the  Kootub  Minar.  We  looked 
at  the  inscriptions  in  the  basement  story,  and  ob- 
served six  bands  or  belts  of  inscriptions  encircling  the 
tower.  The  uppermost  band  contains  some  verses 
from  the  Koran  ;  the  next  below  gives  the  well-known 
ninety  names  (Arabic)  of  God  ;  the  third  contains  the 
names  and  praises  of  Mauz-dodeen  Abul  Muzafur  yVo- 
hammed  V>\\\  Sam.  The  fourth  has  only  one  verse  from 
the  Koran  ;  the  fifth  belt  repeats  the  name  and  praises 
of  the  Sultan  Mohammed  Bin  Sam.  The  lowermost  is 
much  injured,  both  b)'  time  and  by  ignorant  restora- 
tions, and  can  not  be  read  ;  yet  S3-nd  Ahmud  has 
traced  the  words  Amir-ool-Amra,  or  Chief  of  the  No- 
bles. The  inscription  over  the  entrance  door-way  re- 
cords that  the  Minar  of  .Sultan  .Shumsh-oodeen  Al- 
tomsh  having  been  injured,  was  repaired  during  the 
reign  of  Sekunder  Shah,  son  of  Belilol,  b\-  l'\iteh  Khan, 
the  son  of  Khawas  Khan,  in  A. I).  1503.  In  tlic  second 
story,  the  inscription  over  the  door-way  records  that 
the  TLmpernr  .Vltomsh  ordered  the  completion  of  the 
Minar.  The  lowermost  belt  contains  the  verses  of  the 
Koran  respecting  the  summons  to  pra\'er  on  l^^riday, 
and  the  upper  line  contains  the  praises  of  the  lunperor 
Altomsh,  which  are  repeated  over  the  door  of  the  third 
story,  and  again  in  the  belt  of  inscriptions  round  the 
column.     The   door    inscription    in    the    fourth    story, 


THE  GROUNDS  OF  THE  KOOTUB  MINAR.        38 1 

records  that  the  Minar  was  ordered  to  be  erected  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Altomsh.  In  the  fifth  story  the  in- 
scription over  the  door  states  tliat  the  Minar,  having 
been  injured  by  Hghtning,  was  repaired  by  the  Emperor 
Feroz  Shah,  A.D.  1368.  The  pillar  appears  to  have 
been  completed  about  A.D.  1235. 

The  entire  range  of  buildings  at  the  Kootub  were  laid 
out  as  a  mosque,  or  adjuncts  to  the  mosque,  which  is 
easily  traced  to  where  it  stood.  It  was  constructed 
from  the  spoils  of  twenty-seven  idol  temples  that  were 
pulled  down  after  the  capture  of  Pithora's  Fort  in  A.D. 
1 193.  We  passed  to  sec  a  ruined  colonnade  composed 
of  Hindoo  pillars,  taken  away  by  the  Mohammedans 
from  an  idol  temple  built  to  Vishnoo.  The  inclosing 
walls  were  erected  by  the  Moslems ;  all  the  spring 
courses  are  covered  with  ornaments  in  their  style,  and 
possessing  pointed  arches,  which  the  Hindoos  never 
used.  The  figures  that  were  on  the  shafts  of  the  pil- 
lars, in  many  instances  have  been  in  a  vandalic  manner 
cut  off  as  offensive  to  Mohammedan  scrupulosity  with 
regard  to  idolatrous  images  ;  thus  the  iconoclastic  Mos- 
lems destroyed  these  beautiful  masterpieces  of  sculpture, 
which  they  had  not  the  soul  to  appreciate. 

The  Emperor  .\la-oodeen's  palace  lies  at  the  south- 
west of  the  arches  in  the  Kootub  grounds,  and  although 
it  is  termed  a  palace,  it  may  have  been  anything.  The 
walls  are  of  enormous  thickness,  but  much  injured,  and 
there  is  not  a  roof  left  to  any  of  the  many  adjacent 
rooms.  Ala-oodeen  gateway  is  a  sc[uare  of  34J2  feet 
inside,  and  56>^  outside,  the  wall  being  1 1  feet  thick, 
and  built  A.D.  1 310.  On  each  side  there  is  a  lofty  door- 
way, with  a  pointed  hf)rse-shoe  arch,  the  outer  qA'-^*::  of 
the  arch  being  fretted,  and  the  under- side  paneled. 
This  gateway  is  considered  to  be  the  most  beautiful 
specimen    of    PatJuin    architecture.       In    returning   to 


382  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Delhi  we  visited  a  number  of  tombs,  ruined  cities, 
forts,  etc.,  which  it  would  take  pages  to  describe. 
Judge  Hassan-El-Medini  arranged  another  excursion 
for  next  day,  but  as  I  intended  to  visit  the  city,  bazars, 
etc.,  and  the  Scotch  gentleman  and  German  lady  desired 
to  return  soon  to  Bombay  by  taking  the  train  for  Alla- 
habad next  morning,  we  were  obliged  to  decline  ;  and 
when  we  asked  what  was  our  share  for  the  expenses  in 
carriages,  meals,  guides,  and  keepers  of  the  monuments, 
he  answered,  *'  Nothing !  "  We  thanked  him  very  much 
for  his  kindness  and  liberality,  especially  as  we  hardly 
could  find  an  opportunity  for  returning  our  gratitude 
to  him.     We  exchanged  cards  and  separated. 

Next  morning,  after  breakfast,  I  took  a  guide  to  see 
what  I  had  not  yet  visited  in  this  city.  Delhi  of  to-day, 
the  seat  of  the  Padshah's,  or  Mogul  (namely,  Mogol), 
Emperors,  lies  on  a  dusty  granite  plain,  Soo  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea;  it  was  built  in  1631  by  Shah  Jehan, 
within  red  granite  walls,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Jum- 
na, seven  miles  in  circuit,  and  40  feet  high,  having  1 1 
gates,  the  principal  being  the  Delhi,  the  Calcutta,  the 
Lahore,  the  Cashmere,  the  Moon,  the  Ajmere,  and  the 
Cabul  gates.  It  is  1,019  miles  north-west  of  Calcutta, 
390  miles  from  Allahabad,  315  miles  from  Lahore,  870 
miles  from  Bombay.  Delhi  has  occupied  various  sites 
before  the  present  one  was  selected.  The  former  city, 
of  which  the  ruins  are  seen  outside  the  present  city,  was 
twenty  miles  round,  with  a  population  of  2,000,000; 
for  twenty  miles  and  over  around  the  city  the  remains 
of  what  were  probably  magnificent  buildings,  arc  scat- 
tered in  every  direction.  It  took  in  the  site  of  the  Hin- 
doo Indraprestha,  founded,  they  say,  B.C.  3000 ;  with 
the  sites  of  other  ruined  cities.  The  ancient  Hindoo 
name  was  also  Iiidraput,  Indcrput^  or  Iiidcrprcst ;  the 
Mohammedan  name  is  ShaJiJcJianabad.     The  visitor  to 


KOWNTISLOM,    DELHI. 


DELHI  IN  THE  PAST.  383 

Delhi  can  not  possibly  form  the  slightest  conception  of 
the  grandeur  of  the  city  before  the  mutiny,  as  since 
that  period  magnificent  buildings  have  been  pulled 
down  within  "the  palace  inclosurc  to  make  room  for 
barracks,  etc.,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  troops. 
The  population  at  present  is  only  155,000,  half  Hindoos, 
half  Mohammedans. 

Delhi,  for  a  long  time  the  boast  of  India,  was  taken, 
pillaged,  and  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins  by  Tamerlane 
in  1398.  It  afterward  partially  recovered,  till  toward 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  Akbar  transfer- 
red the  seat  of  royalty  to  Agra.  In  1631  the  Emperor 
Shah  Jehan  founded  the  new  city  of  Delhi,  near  the 
ruins  of  the  old,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Shahjehana- 
bad.  It  continued  to  increase  in  splendor  and  impor- 
tance to  such  a  degree  that  its  revenue  amounted  to 
^3)8 1 3,594.  Here  a  line  of  Mogul  Emperors,  after 
Tamerlane,  reigned  1 526-1707,  viz  :  Baber,  Humayoon, 
Shahjehan,  and  Aurungzcbo.  In  1739  Nadir  Shah  in- 
vaded and  plundered  it,  and  100,000  inhabitants  were 
massacred.  It  was  again  pillaged  and  depopulated  in 
1756,  1759,  and  1760  by  Ahmed  Abdallah,  Since  1803  it 
has  been  in  reality  subject  to  the  British  Government, 
though  still  the  residence  of  the  Emperor  or  Great  Mo- 
gul, who  has  a  nominal  authority,  but  is  virtually  de- 
pendent on  the  British.  On  the  first  of  September, 
1856,  a  forced  farce  proclaimed  Queen  Victoria  of  ICn- 
gland  to  be  Empress  of  India,  and  again  in  1877  this 
forced  farce  was  reproduced  in  this  city  in  a  magnifi- 
cent style.  But  )'ou  ask,  "  Do  the  Hindoos  like  Queen 
Victoria,  now  luiipress  of  India?  Are  they  attachetl 
to  her?"  Not  a  bit  of  it.  The  natives  of  India  may 
be  divided  into  three  classes.  Eirst,  the  Kajalis  ;  second, 
the  merchants;  third,  the  common  jxoplc.  'J'lie  Ra- 
jahs submit  because  they  have  not  the  power  to  expel 


384  ^    TOUR  m  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

the  English ;  but  at  any  time  they  feel  able  to  regain 
their  independence  they  will  do  so.  The  merchants 
feel  a  necessity  for  peace  on  account  of  commerce,  but 
they  hate  England,  and  they  are  ready  to  assist  the 
Rajahs  any  time  they  perceive  a  probability  of  a  suc- 
cessful issue  to  a  revolt.  The  common  class  are  indif- 
ferent ;  they  know  that  their  condition  is  to  serve ;  if 
not  England,  they  must  submit  to  the  Rajahs;  but  they 
would  prefer  to  be  under  their  native  kings,  rather  than 
to  be  under  England.  What  have  the  Hindoos  gained 
from  England?  What  improvement,  civilization,  and 
religion  has  England  introduced  into  India  after  over  a 
century  of  occupation?  I  would  answer  in  the  words 
of  De  Quincey,  "  The  only  memorial  of  our  rule,  sup- 
posing us  suddenly  ejected  from  India,  would  be  vast 
heaps  of  champagne  bottles." 

Modern  Delhi  contains  two  spacious  streets ;  one 
called  the  Chandncc  Chozuk  (or  street  of  light),  broad, 
clean,  macadamized,  and  planted  with  trees,  intersects 
the  city  and  contains  the  best  shops.  Most  of  the  streets 
are  narrow  and  irregular,  and  the  houses,  built  without 
order,  of  brick,  mud,  bamboo,  and  mats,  are  generally 
covered  with  thatch,  resembling  a  motley  group  of  vil- 
lages, rather  than  an  extensive  town.  The  bazars  are 
but  indifferently  furnished.  Cotton  cloths  and  indigo 
are  manufactured  in  the  town  and  neighborhood.  The 
principal  productions  of  the  land  are  rice,  corn,  millet, 
and  indigo.  Delhi  is  still  noted  for  its  Cashmere 
shawls  and  scarfs  of  gold  and  silver  tissue,  jewelry,  toys, 
ivory  paintings,  filagree  ornaments,  bangles,  marriage 
boxes,  and  wood-work.  Salt  is  made,  and  great  fairs 
are  held  here.  Communication  is  open  here  by  canals 
to  the  east  and  west  as  far  as  Rajpore. 

By  the  evening  train  I  left  for  Umballa.  At  Gazeea- 
bad  Junction  some  English  soldiers  of  the  59th  Regiment 


BRITISH  SOLDIERS.  385 

came  into  the  car  occupied  by  me  and  a  lady ;  two  of 
them  had  imbibed  too  much  of  bad  rum,  and  were  ac- 
companied by  two  other  soldiers,  likewise  drunk,  who 
helped  them  in  carrying  their  beds  and  other  luggage 
belonging  to  them,  which  filled  the  entire  car.  They 
were  returning  from  Calcutta,  and  at  this  station  had 
stopped  with  other  soldiers  stationed  here  ;  of  course 
they  must  have  had  a  good  spree.  They  had  muskets, 
bayonets,  and  sabres.  They  commenced  to  quarrel, 
and  said  to  me  that  they  wanted  to  fill  the  whole  car. 
I  remonstrated  ;  they  commenced  to  swear;  they  cursed 
me  and  called  me  any  amount  of  bad  names.  There  was 
a  corporal  who  felt  very  much  mortified  at  their  conduct, 
but  he  could  do  nothing  with  them  ;  there  was  also  a  na- 
tive soldier,  who  likewise  was  ashamed  of  their  behavior. 
I  went  out  of  the  car  and  applied  to  the  station- 
master,  who  came  to  the  car,  and  these  soldiers  cursed 
him,  calling  him  every  bad  name.  The  station-master 
raised  his  voice  and  declared  that  if  they  did  not  be- 
have themselves,  he  would  soon  put  them  out ;  but  as 
the  cars  were  about  to  move,  I  retook  my  place,  and 
the  soldiers,  having  taken  a  flask  of  bad  rum  from  their 
valise,  emptied  it  in  no  time  and  of  course  became  worse. 
I  told  the  lady  to  remove  herself  as  far  from  them  as  pos- 
sible, while  I  would  face  all  the  trouble.  The  corporal  tried 
to  coax  them  to  behave,  but  in  vain  ;  they  even  threat- 
ened to  shoot  me.  Finally,  overpowered  by  the  fumes 
of  liquor,  they  fell  asleep.  I  say  nothing  as  to  whether 
I  could  close  my  eyes  even  for  a  few  minutes  or  not, 
and  I  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  how  many  kicks  I 
got  while  these  bes(jtted  creatures  stretched  their  legs 
and  turned  from  side  to  side.  The  c(jri)oral,  who  was  a 
good  man,  did  not  sleep  tlie  entire  night,  but  was  apol- 
ogizing for  them,  promising  to  have  them  punished 
when  they  would  arrive  at  their  quarters. 
17 


386  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

One  of  them,  who  had  a  nightmare,  awoke  crying 
against  the  corporal,  calling  him  every  name,  threatened 
him,  charging  him  to  be  against  them,  and  such  like ; 
the  corporal  put  his  head  out  of  the  window  and  took 
no  notice.  About  the  break  of  day  we  were  obliged  to 
change  cars,  and  I  was  very  glad  to  be  out  of  their  com- 
pany ;  but  lo !  we  met  together  again  in  a  car  on  the 
other  train,  but  they  had  digested  the  bad  rum,  and 
feeling  ashamed  of  themselves,  came  to  me  to  beg  par- 
don and  to  apologize.  They  confessed  that  they  did 
not  know  what  they  had  said  or  done,  but  they  knew 
they  had  acted  badly.  "I  know,"  I  said,  "that  it  was 
rum,  and  not  you  that  caused  the  misbehavior  of  last 
night."  I  gave  them  some  good  advice  .to  abstain  from 
liquor,  not  only  for  their  sakes,  but  for  the  sake  of  their 
country  and  of  the  regiment  to  which  they  belonged. 
I  made  the  corporal  promise  that  he  would  not  have 
them  punished  when  they  would  arrive  at  the  quar- 
ters where  they  were  stationed. 

At  Umballa  we  parted  great  friends,  and  shook  hands 
cordially.  This  town,  called  also  Amballa,  in  Sirhind, 
in  the  Punjab,  lies  1,040  feet  above  the  sea,  and  in  full 
sight  of  the  Himalayas;  it  is  166  miles  from  Delhi  by 
rail,  and  has  a  population  of  24,000  natives.  The 
railway  to  Simla  is  not  }X't  finished,  but  there  is  a  good 
carriage  road  from  Umballa.  The  distance  from  the 
latter  to  Simla  is  only  80  miles  north-east  of  Umballa. 
It  is  7,870  feet  abo\'e  the  sea,  facing  the  .Siwalik  Hills, 
and  in  sight  of  the  Himalayas.  The  population  gen- 
erally is  about  7,000.  The  snowy  line  of  the  Hima- 
layas, 23,000  feet  above  the  sea,  70  miles  distant,  seems 
within  a  few  miles.  Peterholf,  the  Viceroy's  residence, 
is  a  picturesque  s[)()t,  from  which  Lord  Auckland  issued 
his  proclamation  against  Cabul,  1838.  i\t  the  end  of 
the  ridge,  near  the  Jackoo  Peak,  is  the  residence  of  the 


HIMALAYA  MOUNTAINS.  387 

Commander-in-Chief.  To  the  south  are  Soobathoo 
Hills,  with  the  great  plain  of  Hindostan  before  it,  spread 
out  Hke  a  map.  In  the  summer  season  the  population 
increases  to  20,000,  but  it  dwindles  to  2,000  in  the  win- 
ter, when  the  snow  lies  sometimes  till  May.  Here  there 
is  an  observatory.  From  Simla  to  Leh,  the  capital  of 
Little  Thibet,  over  the  Parung  Pass,  is  43  marches,* 
and  to  Striniiggur,  in  Kashmir,  40  marcjies  from  Simla. 
The  Himalaya  Mountains  are  the  natural  boundary  of 
India  on  the  north,  dividing  it  from  Thibet  and  China ; 
they  are  1,500  miles  long,  from  the  Hindoo  Koosh,  near 
Cabul  and  Assam,  and  20,000  feet  high,  on  the  average. 
Westward,  toward  Simla,  etc.,  are  the  lofty  peaks  of 
Nanda  Devi,  25,749  feet;  Kamet,  25,550  feet;  and 
Gyu,  24,764  feet.  East  of  it  are  Tingrimadan,  26,000 
feet;  Kinchinjunga,  28,176  feet;  Mount  Everest, 
29,002  feet,  the  highest  of  all,  and  the  highest  in  the 
world  (half  a  mile  higher  than  Sorata  in  the  Andes) ; 
and  Dhwalagiri,  28,000  feet.  Sometimes  they  are  visi- 
ble at  Patna.  There  are  several  passes  over  the  range, 
used  by  the  Thibet  traders,  18,000  feet  high,  5,000  feet 
above  the  snow  line.  At  the  Cashmere  end,  15  miles 
from  the  Indus,  is  Dayarmur  Peak,  25,629  feet  high. 


*  A  march  is  twelve  to  fifteen  miles. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

T.AHORE — MOOLTAN — NAVIGATION  OF  THE  INDUS — KURRACHEE — PER- 
SIAN GULF — GARDEN  OF  EDEN  OR  TERRESTRIAL  PARADISE — EUPHRATES 
AND  TIGRIS — BAGDAD. 

From  Umballa  up  to  Lahore,  and  in  every  direction, 
all  stations  were  provided  with  arms,  and  a  number  of 
soldiers  at  the  stations  were  ready  for  action.  The  hos- 
tile and  savage  tribes,  amongst  whom  the  railway  and 
other  roads  pass,  render  this  precaution  a  necessity. 
Several  stations  on  this  line  had  been  taken  and  plun- 
dered by  hostile  tribes,  and  the  railroad  station  officers 
and  station-masters  had  applied  to  the  Government  for 
a  sufficient  military  force  to  protect  them. 

At  Lahore  I  took  my  lodging  in  a  hotel  kept  by  a  na- 
tive. There  are  only  a  few  hotels  ;  all  kept  b}'  natives. 
The  accommodation  was  but  middling,  but  a  person 
that  wants  to  travel  has  to  submit  to  many  inconven- 
iences, and  if  he  wants  all  the  comforts  of  life,  I  would 
advise  him  to  stay  at  home. 

Lahore,  two  miles  from  the  Ravee  (the  Greek  Hy- 
draotes),  was  an  old  seat  of  the  Mogul  Emperors,  and 
was  latterly  the  Sikh  capital  of  Runjcet  Singh,  1779- 
1839,  ^^^  Mahrajah  of  Cashmere,  who  fortified  it. 
Lahore  is  the  chief  city  of  the  Punjab,  and  has  a  brick 
wall  seven  miles  around,  and  the  fort  contains  ruins  of 
an  old  palace,  serais,  Hindoo  temples,  the  palace  of 
Runjeet  Singh,  some  parts  of  the  ruins  of  which  bear 
evidence  of  the  great  beauty  that  must  ha\'e  character- 
ized the  whole.  There  is  also  the  great  Padshah 
mosque,  believed  to  have  been  built  by  Aurungzebe  ; 
(3SS) 


THE  SIKHS. 


389 


Wuzeer  Khan's  mosque ;  and  the  Sonara  mosque. 
Across  the  Ravee  (by  bridge  of  boats)  is  the  Shah 
Dura,  or  Mausoleum  of  the  Emperor  Jehangeer,  still  a 
monument  of  grandeur,  notwithstanding  the  pains  that 
appear  to  have  been  taken  to  destroy  this  truly  magnifi- 
cent work  of  art.  The  mausoleum  is  situated  in  the  cen- 
ter of  a  garden  of  noble  dimensions,  which  is  laid  out  in 
beautiful  walks,  and  planted  with  orange  groves.  There 
are  a  number  of  inscriptions  on  the  building  in  mosaics 
of  most  elaborate  workmanship,  the  words  "Jehangeer 
(Jehanghir),  Conqueror  of  the  World,"  being  added  in 
white  marble.  The  Jaivab  (or  answer  to  this  tomb), 
which  is  situated  but  a  short  distance  from  it,  is  now 
being  used  by  the  Government  as  a  residence  for  the 
officers  of  the  Peshawur  State  Railway,  and  the  court- 
yard for  blacksmiths'  forges,  saw-mills,  etc.  The  bridg- 
ing of  the  Ravee  is,  however,  nearly  finished,  and  when 
entirely  completed,  perhaps  this  vandalism  will  be  dis- 
continued. Returning  to  Lahore,  there  are  Shah  Je- 
han's  gardens,  called  S/ialiinar—\\o\xsc  of  Joy  of  Shah 
Jehan — distant  about  three  miles  north-east,  one  and  a 
quarter  miles  long,  though  they  arc  fast  falling  into 
decay.  There  are  three  terraces  rising  one  above  the 
other,  and  450  fountains.  The  weather  is  very  pleas- 
ant from  October  to  May,  and  a  good  fire  is  quite  en- 
joyable in  the  cold  season  ;  but  from  May  to  Septem- 
ber it  is  like  a  furnace. 

The  Sikhs  are  a  robust,  fanatical  sect  of  Hindoo  dis- 
senters, '■'■disciples'''  (as  the  name  signifies)  of  one  Na- 
nac,  or  Xanuk,  born  at  Ra\-pur  (60  miles  distant)  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  of  (iovind,  an  earnest,  fighting 
leader,  who  died  170S.  Ihe}-  all  take  the  surname  of 
^'  Sinv;hy  or  '^  Sii/o-^'  (honj,  and  never  shave  or  smoke, 
but  indulge  in  opium  or  cherry-brandy.  Runjeet  Singh 
was   fond    of  horses,  and  at    his  death  left    1,300   rich 


390  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

bridles,  besides  ^8,ooo,0CK),  and  the  famous  Koh-i-Noor 
diamond  (or  Mountain  of  Light),  which  he  had  wrenched 
from  Shah  Soojah,  and  which  now  is  in  the  possession 
of  Queen  Victoria.  There  is  an  excellent  Dak  (travel- 
er's) bungalow,  which  is  much  needed,  as  Lahore  is  the 
station  from  which  travelers  set  out  for  Peshawur, 
Cabul,  Ferozepore,  etc.  A  railway  (Punjab  Northern) 
is  in  progress  to  Peshawur,  270  miles  via.  Jhelum.  La- 
hore has  a  population  of  150,000,  mostly  natives.  It 
was  the  ancient  residence  of  Poro,  and  an  immense  city, 
over  which  the  Great  Moguls  had  lavished  fabulous 
sums  in  the  construction  of  grand  palaces  and  other  ed- 
ifices, renowned  all  over  the  world,  the  remains  of 
which  vouch  for  their  by-gone  grandeur. 

Mooltan  (or  Multan,  or  Mallithan),  in  the  Punjab,  208 
miles  from  Lahore,  is  a  large  old  town,  with  57,000  in- 
habitants, nearly  all  natives,  and  belonging  to  the  Ka- 
try  tribe — brave  and  war-like  people,  believed  to  be  the 
Catheri,  or  CatJici  of  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
on  a  raised  mound  three  miles  from  the  Chenab  River — - 
among  ruins  of  mosques,  tombs,  and  shrines  belonging 
to  an  earlier  city,  supposed  to  be  the  site  of  Malli, 
taken  by  Alexander  the  Great.  It  has  a  hexagon 
brick  wall,  with  thirty  towers  in  it ;  the  Khan's  old 
palace,  and  a  tall  mosque,  with  a  beautiful  mausoleum 
to  Sham  Tabreezi,  outside  the  walls.  It  was  taken  by 
Runjeet  Singh,  1818;  by  General  Wish,  1849;  retaken 
by  the  Moolraj ;  and  afterward  by  Lieutenant  Ed- 
wardes.  The  climate,  although  very  hot,  is  healthy, 
and  there  is  an  abundance  of  vegetables  and  fruits. 
There  is  a  Catholic  church  here  as  well  as  in  other  com- 
missionerships,  where  there  is  a  sufficient  number  of 
British  Catholic  officers  and  soldiers.  Perhaps  there 
may  be  a  few  native  Catholics.  There  are  many 
extensive  works  in  cotton  and  silk. 


THE  RIVER  INDUS.  3^1 

Till  the  railroad  from  Multan  to  Kurachee,  570  miles, 
be  finished,  communication  is  held  by  steamer  twice  a 
month  to  Hyderabad  and  Kurachee.  As  a  rule,  steam- 
ers leave  Kotree  for  Multan  once  a  week,  but  the  nav- 
igation of  the  Indus  is  dangerous,  and  uncertain  with 
regard  to  the  time  of  arrival  at  Multan,  on  account  of 
the  currents  and  banks  formed  suddenly  by  quicksand. 
The  departures  of  the  steamers  can  not  be  precisely 
fixed  ;  the  state  of  the  river  and  other  difficulties  may 
cause  detention  for  days  and  even  weeks.  The  fare 
from  Multan  to  Kurachee  for  first-class  passengers  is 
133  rupees  and  6  pice  ;  second-class,  34  rupees,  8  annas, 
3  pice  ;  third-class,  9  rupees,  10  annas,  3  pice.  The  fare 
from  Kurachee  to  Multan  is  higher,  because  it  takes  a 
longer  time  to  ascend  the  Indus,  which  is  very  rapid. 
The  fare  to  ascend  the  river  for  first-class  passengers  is 
195  rupees,  6  pice  ;  second-class,  54  rupees,  8  annas,  3 
pice  ;  third-class,  13  rupees,  10  annas,  3  pice.  First-class 
passengers  are  messed  on  board  the  steamer,  with  the 
exception  of  liquors,  which  can  be  had  at  fixed  prices. 
They  are  also  found  with  the  usual  bed  and  cabin  furni- 
ture. Second-class  passengers  are  not  found  in  provis- 
ions, but  they  are  supplied  with  berths  in  the  fore 
saloon. 

The  name  of  this  famous  and  historical  river  is  very 
ancient.  Indus  or  SindJt  is  from  the  Greek,  w  hich  bor- 
rowed it  from  the  Persian.  The  Persians  seem  to  have 
derived  it  from  the  Indian  SindJiu  (ocean).  As  I  have 
observed,  it  rises  on  the  north  of  the  Himalaya  Mount- 
ains, and  properly  in  the  mountains  of  Kachegar  in 
Tartary ;  it  flows  first  north-west  through  Cashmere, 
penetrates  the  chain  of  mountains  in  the  thirty-sixth 
parallel,  then  takes  a  winding  course  to  the  south, 
through  the  mountains  of  Cabulstan  and  Afghanistan, 
crosses  the  Punjab,  and  after  a  course  of  1,700  miles 


392 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


empties  by  several  mouths,  into  the  sea  of  Oman,  or  in 
the  Indian  Ocean,  in  the  gulf  of  Cutch.  The  water  of 
the  Indus  is  wholesome,  and  resembles  that  of  the 
Ganges.  Puiij-ab  means  Fivc-ivatcrs  (corresponding  to 
the  Greek  Pcntapotamia),  namely,  the  Sutlej  (ancient 
Hesiidrus),  the  Beas  {Hypliasis),  the  Ravce  (Hydraotes), 
the  Chenab  {Accsincs),  and  Jhclum  iHydaspcs).  These 
five  all  rise  in  the  Himalayas,  12,000  feet  toward  Cash- 
mere, join  their  streams,  and  at  Mithunkote,  finally 
run  into  a  sixth  ri\er,  the  Indus,  which  flows  through 
Sinde  down  to  Kurac':cc.  The  delta  of  the  Indus  is 
about  150  miles  in  length  along  the  coast,  and  115  in 
breadth.  The  river  is  navigable,  for  vessels  of  200  tons, 
to  the  province  of  Lahore,  a  distance  of  760  geograph- 
ical miles.  From  Attock  to  the  delta,  a  distance  of 
about  800  miles,  its  breadth  is  generally  about  a  mile, 
and  its  depth  from  two  to  five  fathoms.  The  tide  sets 
in  with  great  violence.  The  bed  of  the  Indus  is  sand, 
with  a  small  quantity  of  mud. 

The  navigation  of  the  Indus  is  \cr\'  uninteresting, 
and  vessels  are  continually  in  danger  of  going  aground. 
Owing  to  the  barbarous  habits  of  the  tribes  who  inhabit 
its  banks,  but  little  commerce  takes  place  on  this  river. 
At  Kotree,  in  Sinde,  is  the  depot  for  the  Indus  flotilla, 
with  building-slips  and  work-shops,  and  a  floating  dock 
brought  from  England.  You  tra\'el  from  here  b}'  rail- 
road to  Kurachec. 

In  traveling  I  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  several 
Kurachec  persons,  and  one  of  them  kept  a  hotel,  where 
I  had  promised  to  stop. 

Kurrachee,  or  Crotchec,  is  located  three  miles  from  the 
port,  and  has  a  population  of  57,000  people,  including 
Cantonment,  and  is  a  new  place.  It  is  about  fifteen 
miles  west  of  the  most  westerly  branch  of  the  Indus  ; 
and  being  the  only  seaport  for  Sinde  and  the  Punjab, 


FROM  IXDIA    TO  BA  GDAD.  393 

is  very  valuable,  especially  as  it  is  out  of  the  track  of 
cyclones,  and  is  almost  clear  of  monsoons  ;  and  there 
being  no  good  harbor  within  500  miles  of  it.  However, 
the  harbor  of  Kurrachee  is  not  one  of  the  best ;  there 
is  no  very  good  harbor  in  India,  with  the  exception  of 
Trincomalee  in  the  island  of  Ceylon.  The  entrance 
to  Kurrachee  harbor  is  between  bold,  detached  rocks, 
rising  from  the  sea  on  the  right,  and  the  light-house  of 
Manora  Point  on  our  left.  But  since  the  railways  and 
Suez  Canal  were  opened,  much  of  the  trade  has  been 
diverted  to  Bombay.  The  anchorage  is  exposed,  but 
harbor  work,  docks,  etc.,  are  in  progress.  Piles  of  oys- 
ter shells  line  the  beach,  the  remains  of  extinct  fisher- 
ies. The  native  town,  consisting  of  mud  houses  and 
cottages,  stands  on  a  plain  of  hot  yellow  sand,  and  is 
visited  by  a  dust-storm  every  day;  but  though  hot,  it 
is  healthy.  The  English  town  has  stone  houses  and 
macadamized  roads.  There  are  several  nice  buildings, 
a  Catholic  church,  and  gardens.  The  Alligator  Tank, 
eight  miles  distant,  is  worth  visiting.  There  is  an  Hin- 
doo place  of  pilgrimage,  but  it  is  100  miles  distant. 

The  sea  route  from  India  to  Bagdad  is  by  the  British 
India  steamers  to  Bussora  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  every 
two  weeks,  and  oftcner.  They  touch  at  Gwadur,  a 
small  town  and  telegraph  station  in  Beluchistan,  Per- 
sia ;  then  at  Muscat,  on  the  Arabian  coast,  which  the 
late  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  claimed  for  his  own.  The  popu- 
lation, including  Mutrah,  is  20,000.  It  is  the  capital 
of  a  strip  of  territory  belonging  to  the  Imam,  backed 
by  dark,  volcanic  hills.  The  port  is  like  a  horse-shoe. 
Here  the  Imam  has  a  palace.  There  are  some  old 
forts  built  by  the  Portuguese  and  a  custom-house. 
The  e.xportati(;n  consists  in  dates,  ivory,  gum,  cotton, 
fruits,  and  hides.  Near  to  it  into  the  gulf  is  Cape 
Mussendom,  a  telegraph  station  at  the  mouth  of  the 


394 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


gulf,  among  bold,  lofty  mountain  peaks.  The  boat 
then  goes  to  Gombroon,  or  Bunder  Abbas,  once  a 
famous  port  and  city,  on  the  Persian  side,  where  the 
commerce  of  Shiraz  and  of  all  Southern  Persia  was  car- 
ried on  most  extensively,  before  Bushire,  or  Busheer,  be- 
came the  chief  port  of  Persia  in  the  province  of  Fars  ; 
now  it  is  nothing  but  an  anchorage  in  the  Persian  Gulf, 
a  small  place,  with  only  2,000  inhabitants — -Hindoos, 
Arabians,  Hebrews,  and  Persians — with  some  mount- 
ains behind  it,  from  7,000  to  1 0,000  feet  high.  This 
and  the  site  of  Ormuz,  in  old  times,  were  trading  places 
belonging  to  the  Portuguese,  and  were  taken  by  the 
English  in  1622.  In  the  island  of  Ormuz  there  was 
once  a  city,  the  most  splendid  and  famous  in  all  Asia, 
of  which  there  is  nothing  left  but  a  fort  and  a  miser- 
able town  of  500  inhabitants,  with  an  immensity  of 
ruins,  with  the  exception  of  the  aqueducts,  which  arc 
in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation.  Tall,  conical,  un- 
couth rocks  surround  the  island  of  Kishm.  The 
steamer  now  steers  for  Bushire,  a  city  of  about  16,000 
inhabitants,  and  the  principal  port  of  Persia  in  the 
province  of  Fars,  on  the  Persian  Gulf.  It  occupies  the 
northern  extremity  of  a  peninsula,  being  nearly  sur- 
rounded by  the  sea,  walled  and  fortified  by  the  sea-side 
with  towers  or  forts,  and  is  situated  immediately 
behind  a  chain  of  mountains  ;  the  bay  on  the  shore  is 
called  Hallilah,  after  the  tallest  mountain  of  this  chain. 
Vessels  drawing  above  eighteen  feet  of  water  can  not 
approach  the  town,  but  must  anchor  in  the  roadstead. 
The  dark  blue  sea  stretching  out  in  the  background, 
contrasting  with  the  tall  palm-trees  around  the  wall, 
gives  to  this  city  an  imposing  appearance,  especially  to 
the  approaching  mariner  ;  but  the  interior  is  only  a 
collection  of  low-built  houses  and  huts  of  shelly  lime- 
stone.    The  people  are  a  mixture  of  Arabs  and  Per- 


BUSSORA. 


395 


sians,  but  the  merchants  residing  in  the  town  are  Arme- 
nians and  Persians.  A  healthy  north-west  wind,  called 
the  SJiavial,  blows  for  forty  days  in  May  and  June.  The 
export  consists  in  cotton,  wool,  horses,  carpets,  shawls, 
tobacco,  and  ottar  of  roses,  and  they  are  exchanged  for 
sugar,  spices,  cotton,  linen  goods,  cutlery,  etc. 

The  steamers  of  the  British  India  line  at  Bussora 
(or  Busreh,  Basora,  Basra)  connect  with  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris  Company's  steamers ;  the  latter  leave  for 
Bagdad  twice  or  thrice  a  month.  The  passage-boats 
alike  on  the  Tigris  or  Euphrates  are,  in  length,  42 
feet ;  beam  7  to  8  feet ;  sides,  bottom,  and  inside 
covered  with  bitumen,  half  an  inch  thick ;  they  are 
sharp  at  both  ends,  have  no  rudder,  but  arc  guided 
by  sweeps  of  rude  construction ;  they  usually  take 
three  days  between  Hillah  and  Bussora;  seven  to  eight 
days  are  occupied  between  Bagdad  and  Bussora  by  the 
Tigris,  which  is  more  rapid  than  the  Euphrates.  Five 
and  a  half  to  six  miles  an  hour  are  attained  against  the 
current.  The  fare  from  Bussora  to  Bagdad  is  nearly 
double  that  from  Bagdad  down  to  Bussora,  on  ac- 
count of  the  current.  P'are  from  Bagdad  to  Bussora, 
first-class,  40  Kcrans  (2^  Kerans  =-  i  Rupee,  half  a  dol- 
lar).    This  does  not  include  living. 

Bussora  has  a  population  of  25,000,  and  stands  on  a 
flat  alluvial  delta.  The  city  wall  extends  four  miles  by 
three  miles,  and  it  is  from  t\\cnt\'  to  twenty-five  feet 
thick.  The  houses  are  generally  mean,  being  con- 
structed of  clay,  with  a  small  proportion  of  brick;  and 
the  bazars,  though  containing  the  richest  products  of 
the  East,  are  but  miserable  edifices.  The  principal 
ba/ar  is  about  two  miles  long;  drugs  are  in  abundance 
ani.1  cheap.  The  mosques,  minarets,  etc.,  are  covered 
with  variegated  colored  tiles,  like  those  used  in  Persia 
in  public  edifices.     The  houses  are  flat-roofed,  on  the 


396  --i    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

top  of  which  people  sleep  during  the  summer  season 
for  coolness.  Although  the  inhabitants  are  mostly 
Arabs,  Turks,  and  Armenians,  the  Arabs  have  more 
power  than  the  Turks,  and  the  language  of  the  former 
is  ch'iefly  spoken.  The  town  is  unhealthy  ;  the  environs 
are  fertile.  The  trade  with  the  interior  is  conducted 
by  means  of  caravans  to  Aleppo  and  Bagdad.  Besides 
the  Mohammedan  religion  there  are  the  Syrian,  Jacob- 
ites, and  Nestorians,  and  monks  from  Europe,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  modern  Sabeans,  called  Disciples  of  John. 
The  distance  from  Bombay  is  1,920  miles;  to  Bagdad 
5CXD  miles.     There  are  many  Catholics. 

The  most  satisfactory  route  to  Bagdad  is  to  ascend 
by  the  Euphrates  and  return  by  the  Tigris,  which  is  by 
far  more  rapid  than  the  former.  I  acknowledge  that 
this  is  not  an  agreeable  excursion.  The  heat  is  intol- 
erable, the  boats  are  small  and  not  \'ery  convenient, 
and  the  company,  for  days  and  days,  consists  of  a  num- 
ber of  dirty  Arabs;  \-ct  the  idea  of  seeing  the  land  of 
our  first  parents,  the  spot  where  the  first  man  was 
created,  and  the  site  where  the  terrestrial  Paradise 
stood,  are  sufficient  moti\'es  for  overcoming  every  diffi- 
culty. The  name  of  the  river  from  here  to  Kornah  is 
Shat-el-Arab ;  it  is  600  }'ards  wide,  and  is  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  tides,  and  forty  miles  from  Bussora. 
Here  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  join  together.  Kornah 
is  supposed  to  have  been  the  situation  of  the  Garden 
of  liden — the  Terrestrial  l\'iradisc,  the  spot  where  our 
first  parent  was  created.  No  matter  what  ma}'  be  the 
idea  of  others,  the  most  common  opinion  is  that  the 
Garden  of  Eden  was  in  ^Mesopotamia,  near  J^abx'lon. 

Without  expatiating  in  long  and  useless  s])cculalions, 
let  us  take  the  word  of  G(jd,  written  in  (jcnesis,  cliapter 
ii.  verse  8  :  "  And  the  Lord  God  had  planted  a  paradise 
of  pleasure  ....  and  a  river  went  out  of  the  place  of 


Eden  o. Terrestrial  Paradise* 


WHERE   WAS  THE  GARDEN  OF  EDEN? 


397 


pleasure  to  water  paradise,  which  from  thence  is  di- 
vided into  four  heads.  And  the  name  of  the  one  is 
Phison,  that  is  it  which  compasseth  all  the  land  of 
Hevilath,  where  gold  groweth,  and  the  gold  of  that 
land  is  very  good  ;  there  is  found  bdellium,  and  the 
onyx  stone;  and  the  name  of  the  second  river  is  (ie- 
hon;  the  same  is  it  that  compasseth  all  the  land  of 
Ethiopia.  And  the  name  of  the  third  river  is  Tigris : 
the  same  passeth  along  by  the  Assyrians.  And  the 
fourth  river  is  Euphrates." 

Now,  we  have  in  this  passage  of  the  Genesis,  that  a 
river  divided  into  four  heads  came  out  of  Paradise. 
Here  we  have  a  river  coming  out  of  Paradise,  and  it  is 
divided  into  four  heads.  The  river  is  Shat-el-Arab, 
and  flows  into  the  Persian  Gulf  70  rniles  below  Bassora. 
The  first  head  is  the  nv&r  Kiir an ;  the  second  is  the 
river  KerkhaJi ;  the  third,  the  river  Tigris,  and  the 
fourth,  the  river  Euphrates ;  all  these  four  rivers  come 
out  of  one  river,  according  to  the  text.  The  genius  of 
the  Eastern  languages  in  speaking  of  one  or  more  riv^ers 
entering  in  one,  is  to  say  that  a  river  divides  in  one, 
two,  or  more  branches,  always  pointing  upwards.  The 
North  American  Indians  use  this  st\-le  of  speaking 
when  they  say  that  a  river  forks  in  two,  three,  or  more 
branches  always  pointing  upwards  ;  meaning  that  one 
or  more  rivers  enters  into  another. 

About  the  Tigris  and  I^uphrates  there  is  no  question  ; 
the  disagreement  amongst  those  who  have  treated  of 
this  matter  is  about  the  rivers  Phison  and  Gehon,  which 
are  not  found,  at  present,  in  Maccd<jiiia,  nor  near  to  it. 
The  Holy  Scripture  says  that  Phison  was  the  first 
river,  and  the  Euphrates  the  last ;  hence  we  must  com- 
mence from  the  river  nearest  to  the  mouth  of  the  Shat- 
el-Arab,  namely,  from  the  Kuran,  whicli  may  have  been 
the  Phison,  now  called  Kuran,  whose  left  branch 
springs  in  the  province  of  P^ars — the  richest  country  in 


398  '4    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Persia.  Could  not  Fai's  come  from  Phcson  ?  thus,  this 
river  to  have  left  the  name  in  the  country  in  which  one 
of  its  branches  originated  ?  Fars,  or  Farsistan,  has 
many  precious  mines,  and  the  quartz  (onyx)  is  very 
precious  ;  and  could  not  the  bdcUium  be  the  medicinal 
petroleum  which  there  is  found  in  abundance?  That 
the  gold  of  Persia  is  very  fine,  it  is  v/ell  known.  The 
Holy  Scripture  adds  that  this  river  compasses  the  land 
of  Hevilath  (Havilah);  Aval  is  a  large  island  in  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  the  largest  of  the  Bahhrein  Islands 
opposite  to  Fars,  Province  of  Persia;  this  may  be  the 
land  of  Havilah  ;  the  entire  cluster  of  islands  formerly 
may  have  been  only  one  large  island,  or  even  attached 
to  the  Persian  continent,  and  forming  one  same  prov- 
ince with  Fars,  separated  afterward  by  alluvial  revolu- 
tions. 

The  second  river  is  the  Gehon,  and  it  must  be  the 
Kerkhah,  the  second  river  entering  the  SIiat-cI-Arab, 
which  enters  Persia  by  crossing  the  Khuzistan,  where, 
forty  miles  above  its  mouth,  is  the  site  of  the  ancient 
Susa,  and  not  far  from  it  is  the  tomb  of  Daniel,  and 
branches  in  man}'  directions,  even  through  the  sandy 
desert.  Now,  there  is  a  river  called  Gihoii,  named  also 
Amu,  and  anciently,  Oxus.  This  descends  from  the 
boundaries  of  Little  Thibet  ;  runs  east  of  Persia,  but 
now  takes  a  north-west  direction  and  discharges  its 
waters  into  the  lake  Aral,  in  Turkistan.  It  might  have 
been  in  very  remote  times,  that  the  (jihon,  after  cross- 
ing the  mountains  north  of  Persia,  worked  its  \vay 
through  the  sandy  desert  of  Persia,  joined  the  Kerkhah, 
and  entered  the  SJiat-cl-Arab ;  or  perhaps  it  may  have 
been  one  and  the  same  river,  but  that  it  became  sepa- 
rated in  the  sandy  desert  of  Arabia,  retaining  the  orig- 
inal name,  Gihon,  toward  its  beginning  and  changing 
the  course  northward  to  Lake  Aral  ;    the  other  part 


THE  AXCIEXT  CHALD.-EA. 


399 


taking  the  local  name  KcrkhaJi.  There  are  many 
rivers  in  the  desert  of  Persia  that  spring  out  of  the 
sand,  and  disappear  into  the  same.  The  Holy  Script- 
ure, in  the  same  place,  says  that  Gihon  coiiipassctJi  all 
iJic  land  of  Ethiopia  ;  Ethiopian,  in  ancient  times,  was 
an  indefinite  term  used  to  signify  all  people  of  a  dark 
or  black  skin,  as  well  in  Asia  as  Africa.  Homer,  who 
calls  them  the  blameless,  therefore  places  the  Ethi- 
opians both  in  the  east  and  the  west  I  Afterward,  the 
inhabitants  of  Abyssinia  were  called  b}'  this  name ; 
Abyssinia  being  denominated  .  Kthiopia.  The  Gihon 
surrounds  the  Tartars,  the  Afghans,  and  the  Persians, 
who  are  of  a  dark-colored  skin. 

These  few  remarks  on  the  Garden  of  Eden  must  be 
taken  only  for  what  they  are  \\orth.  l^ut  let  it  be  what 
it  will  :  this  is  certain,  .this  is  the  ancient  Chakkxa, 
famous  for  having  founded  the  Babylonian  and  As- 
syrian empires,  and  the  Chakheans  were  the  first  people 
who  worked  in  metals.  The  land,  at  present,  in  this 
si)ot  is  barren,  but  formerly  was  a  fertile  country.  The 
extensive  region  inclosed  by  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates 
is  the  Mesopotamia  ;  this  Greek  word  signifies  the  land 
between  the  rivers.  The  T^Iesopotamians  sprang  from 
the  Chakheans,  the  primitive  inhabitants  from  the 
Cushites,  who,  in  the  reign  of  Nimrod,  built  the  cities 
of  Edessa  and  Xisibis,  and  from  the  tlescendants  of 
Scm.  Sex'cral  miles  up  river,  the\-  point  out  the  Tomb 
of  Esdra,  to  which  the  Jews  come  to  pray  ;  then  further 
up  we  see  the  ruins  of  AlexancU-r's  Bridge;  finallw  the 
ruins  of  Babylon,  near  l/illnh,  a  \illagc:  of  7,000  inhab- 
itants, on  tlie  western  side  of  tlu;  Euphrates,  are  still 
called  b\'  the  Arabs,  I>abel ;  which  was  the  c;ipital  of 
the  ()\d  I'abyjoiiia  (now  Irak  Arabi).  Twenty  niiK;s 
west  and  four  and  a  half  miles  north  of  tlu:  Bridge  of 
Hillah,  is  the  Mugillibeh,  near  which  are  the  remains 


400 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


of  Kasr,  with  the  hanging  gardens;  and  six  miles  from 
Hillah  is  Birs  Nimroud,  supposed  to  be  the  temple  of 
Belus,  both  of  which  were  among  the  greatest  curiosi- 
ties of  this  gigantic  city,  of  which  almost  ev^ery  trace  is 
destroyed. 

Oh,  what  a  great  subject  for  a  profound  meditation 
it  is  to  contemplate  on  these  vast  mounds  and  ruins! 
A  city  whose  extent  approaches  the  miraculous;  whose 
walls  are  said  to  have  been  350  feet  high  and  87  feet 
thick  ;  a  city  which  had  two  hundred  and  fifty  towers, 
and  one  hundred  gates  .of  brass ;  a  city  whose  extent 
was  sixty  miles  in  circuit,  now  is  represented  by  noth- 
ing but  some  mounds  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  ! ! ! 

It  is  said  that  in  the  time  of  Alexander  antique  mon- 
uments abounded  in  the  Lunilum  marshes,  which  are 
seventy-six  miles  south  of  Babylon.  Arrian  says  that 
the  monuments  or  tombs  of  the  Assyrian  kings  were 
reported  to  be  placed  in  the  marshes — a  report  substan- 
tiated by  the  fact  that  glazed  earthenware  coffins  were 
found  in  some  mounds.  From  Birs,  at  Nimroud,  to 
the  Touib  of  EzecJiicl,  to  which  the  Jews  come  on  pil- 
grimage, many  ruins  arc  found. 

The  Bab3donian  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  nations  of 
the  earth,  of  the  Semitic  race.  They  were  a  distinct  peo- 
ple, with  settled  abode,  and  a  certain  degree  of  scientific 
cultivation,  especially  in  astronomy  and  astrology,  as 
early  as  2000  B.C.  The  ^Mosaic  account  mentions  Nim- 
rod  as  the  founder  of  the  first  empire  in  Bab}'lonia. 
The  later  Greeks  describe  Belus,  Ninus,  and  Scmiramis 
as  great  conquerors.  With  the  fall  of  Nineveh  the  em- 
pire of  Assyria  fell ;  henceforward  it  merged  into  Baby- 
lon, and  the  charm  of  power  passed  away,  finally,  from 
the  Tigris  to  the  ILuphratcs.  C\'rus  took  Babylon  538 
B.C. ;  from  this  date  Bab}'lon  became  subject  to  the 
Persian  power.     Subsequently  it  fell  under  the  sway  of 


BAGDAD. 


401 


Alexander,  who  died  of  fever  in  that  city.  Babylon 
succumbed  to  the  lR.omans,  became  a  mere  fragment  of 
that  empire,  ultimately  shared  the  fate  of  Nineveh,  and 
sank  beneath  the  very  surface  of  the  earth. 

Bagdad,  the  capital  of  a  Turkish  pachalic  of  the  same 
name,  the  old  seat  of  the  Caliphs,  is  a  large  city  extend- 
ing along  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Tigris  for  three  miles  ; 
making,  with  the  length  of  the  walls  from  the  river, 
about  two  miles  of  an  oblong  square.  The  old  city, 
now  in  ruins,  but  once  containing  2,000,000  inhabitants, 
was  situated  on  the  western  bank  of  the  river.  The 
modern  l^agdad  is  constructed  with  hewn  stone  and 
bricks,  and  has  a  handsome  appearance.  The  streets 
are  narrow  and  unpaved  ;  the  houses  have  only  one 
story,  but  the  dwellings  of  the  wealth)-  are  distinguish- 
ed by  a  better  architecture.  The  modern  city  is  sur- 
rounded with  a  brick  wall  about  six  miles  in  circuit,  and 
with  a  ditch  from  five  to  six  fathoms  deep,  which  may 
be  filled  with  water  from  the  Tigris.  The  castle  com- 
mands the  Tigris,  and  contains  an  arsenal,  but  it  is  un- 
tenable. The  bazar  is  extensive,  and  the  Armenians 
arc  the  principal  merchants.  Bagdad  is  an  important 
mart  for  Arabian,  Indian,  and  Persian  productions,  as 
well  as  for  European  manufactures,  and  there  is  consid- 
erable trade  between  this  place  and  Mosul  and  I^ussora 
in  timber,  metals,  and  ores,  while  provisions,  \'cgctablcs, 
and  fruits  are  abundant  and  at  a  low  price.  Rafts  of 
timber  descend  the  Tigris  also,  and  are  certain  of  a 
market  at  Bagdad  and  Bussora.  The  population  now 
is  ioo,OGO.  The  Catholic  Armenian  Patriarch  resides 
here,  and  has  jurisdiction  over  all  the  Armenians  every- 
where they  exist.  He  has  had  some  hard  trials  in  the 
trouble  of  Malabar,  but  he  endured  all  the  troubles  and 
abuses  with  truly  Christian  resignation.  He  was  at  the 
Council  of  the  Vatican  celebrated   by  Pius  IX.,  where 


402 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


he  gave  an  example  of  sanctity  and  humility.  To  see 
that  venerable  patriarch  in  his  very  old  age  submitting 
to  the  hardships  of  a  long  and  painful  journey  to  obey 
the  call  of  the  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  truly  edifying. 
He  was  observed  by  the  bishops  in  recreation  at  the 

palace  of  Marquis ,  alone  and  roving  through  the 

rooms  in  silence,  not  being  able  to  converse  with  any  of 
them,  on  account  of  his  language  not  being  understood 
by  them,  nor  could  he  understand  them,  having  with 
him  there  no  person  for  interpreter. 

The  heat  of  the  summer  obliges  the  inhabitants  to 
shelter  themselves  in  subterranean  chambers,  but  the 
winter  is  cold  enough  to  make  a  fire  necessary,  yet  the 
city  is  healthy  and  agreeable,  and  free  from  pestilen- 
tial diseases ;  but  they  frequently  suffer  from  cuta- 
neous disorders.  The  people  are  bold,  enterprising,  and 
turbulent.  The  Turks  compose  three- fourths  of  the 
whole  population.  The  Jews  are  confined  to  a  seclud- 
ed district  of  the  city,  and  are  in  a  very  oppressed  con- 
dition. The  Persians  are  under  the  particular  protec- 
tion of  the  Government,  and  are  renowned  for  honesty, 
prudence,  and  integrity.  The  higher  classes  are  more 
civil  and  attentive  to  strangers  than  is  usually  the  case 
with  Mohammedans,  On  the  other  hand,  the  lower 
classes  are  infected  with  the  prevailing  vices  of  the 
East.  Without  the  gates  of  the  city  groups  of  camels 
belonging  to  caravans  may  be  seen  ;  they  are  w^ander- 
ing  about  by  hundreds.  These  caravans  with  merchan- 
dise sometimes  consist  of  about  2,000  camels,  accompa- 
nied by  people  of  almost  every  calling,  all  more  or  less 
armed,  and  numbering  about  2,000  persons. 

In  1 83 1  Bagdad  was  visited  by  the  plague,  and  lost 
more  than  two-thirds  of  its  population.  For  four  days 
consecutively  the  mortality  amounted  to  i,oco  per  day ; 
when  it  was  at  its  height  as  many  as  4,000  fell  in  a  sin- 


MOSUL. 


403 


gle  day,  such  was  the  virulence  of  the  disease  with 
which  this  doomed  city  was  visited.  Before  the  plague 
was  ended,  the  city  was  inundated  by  an  overflow  of 
the  Tigris,  which  undermined  a  part  of  the  walls,  and 
in  a  single  day  as  many  as  7,000  houses  were  forced 
down  with  an  awful  crash  ;  hundreds  who  had  escaped 
the  plague  were  engulfed  by  the  water. 

Mosul  (or  Moosul,  or  Moussul)  is  several  miles  up  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris,  the  offspring  of  Nineveh.; 
for  the  city  and  stone  bridge  over  the  river  are  chiefly 
constructed  of  stones  and  materials  dug  from  the  ruins 
round.  Marco  Polo  informs  us  that  here  vmslins  were 
first  made,  but  they  were  really  cloths  of  gold  and  silk. 

"  Far  away,"  says  Rich,  ''a  thousand  miles  from  the 
highways  of  modern  commerce  and  the  tracks  of  ordi- 
nary travel,  lay  a  city  buried  in  the  sandy  earth  of  a 
half  desert  Turkish  province,  with  no  certain  trace  of 
its  place  of  sepulture.  Vague  traditions  said  it  was 
hidden  somewhere  near  the  Tigris  ;  but  for  above  a  thou- 
sand years  its  known  existence  in  the  world  was  a  mere 
name — a  word.  That  name  suggested  the  idea  of  an 
ancient  capital  of  fabulous  splendor  and  magnitude,  a 
congregation  of  palaces  and  other  dwellings,  encom- 
passed by  walls  and  ramparts,  vast,  but  scarcely  real." 
It  was  more  thafi  two  thousand  years  that  Nineveh  had 
thus  lain  in  its  unknown  grave,  when  the  learned  Botta 
once  more  brought  to  light  to  an  astonished  world  the 
temples,  the  palaces,  the  idols,  and  the  works  of  peace- 
ful art  of  the  ancient  Assyrians — the  Nineveh  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  the  oldest  historians  ;  the  twin  sister 
of  Babylon.  It  lay  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tigris,  oppo- 
site to  Mosul,  in  an  area  of  216  square  miles.  The  As- 
syrian history  records  thirty-six  kings  who  reigned  in 
Nineveh  ;  the  last  of  whom  was  Sardanapalus,  whose 
throne  was  overturned  by  an  invasion  of  the  Mcdcs. 


404  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Arbaces  led  his  army  across  the  mountains  of  Koordis- 
tan,  and  made  himself  king  of  Assyria  B.C.  804. 

Near  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris,  a  little  further  up, 
is  the  tomb  of  the  prophet  Jonas  (now  called  Ncbbi 
Yonus),  and  near  to  Kougunjik,  was  the  principal  pal- 
ace of  the  Assyrian  kings,  and  at  Khorsobad  was  the 
palace  built  by  Salmanazar.  About  forty  miles  down 
the  Tigris,  below  Nineveh,  is  the  dyke  called  Il-Zikr- 
rr-/-<7Zt'rt'^  (or  Nimrod),  which  crosses  the  bed  of  the  river. 
Seven  miles  lower  there  is  another  dyke  called  Zikr- 
Isniail ;  two  and  three-quarter  miles  south-east  from 
Zikra-l-awaa  are  the  ruins  of  Nimrod  (or  Arthur) ;  they 
are  about  four  miles  in  circumference.  Nimrod  was 
that  valiant  warrior  who,  according  to  the  Mosaic  ac- 
count, lived  2,000  years  B.C.  It  was  he  that  substituted 
monarchy  for  the  patriarchal  independency  of  the  no- 
madic tribes.  Babylon  and  the  monarchy  of  Nimrod 
were  founded  by  him.  Herder  calls  him  the  builder  of 
the  Tower  of  Babel,  and  considers  his  representation  as 
a  powerful  hunter,  merely  a  figurative  designation  of  the 
tyranny  and  artifice  by  which  he  subjected  and  united  the 
wild  nomadic  tribes.  Nimrod  in  Chaldaic  and  Arabic 
signifies  a  rebel.  This  journey  is  difficult  and  laborious. 
We  hope  that  the  projected  railway  in  the  Euphrates 
valley  will  soon  be  constructed  ;  it  is  to  commence  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Orontes  in  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  crosses  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  to  Bagdad,  then 
runs  parallel  to  the  left  bank  of  the  same  river,  crossing 
the  Tigris  at  Kurnah,  and  terminating  in  the  Persian 
Gulf,  thus  connecting  this  gulf  with  the  Mediterranean. 
This  route  would  bring  India  nearer  to  Europe,  and 
would  powerfully  promote  the  commerce  and  civiliza- 
tion of  the  world  at  large. 

The  Euphrates  and  Tigris  Company's  steamers,  carry- 
ing mails  in  connection  with  the  British  India  Company, 


STEAMER  ROUTES. 


405 


leave  Bagdad  about  twice  a  month  for  Bussora,  on  the 
arrival  of  the  Damascus  mail  from  England.  A  through 
ticket  from  Bagdad  to  Bombay  can  be  procured  from 
the  agents  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  Company. 
During  my  visit  the  agents  were  the  obliging  Messrs. 
Lynch,  in  Bagdad. 


BmOVUM'oKK    (  I'l'KSIAj. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

BACK  TO  INDIA — BOMBAY — SALSE'lTK  ISLAND — KANHERY  CAVES — TEM- 
PLE OF  THE  FIRE — TOWER  OF  SILENCE — EXCAVATIONS  OF  EI.E- 
PHANTA. 

In  the  voyage  from  Bussora  to  Bombay  there  was 
nothing  worthy  of  notice.  13ombay  is  approached  soon 
after  passing  some  rather  dangerous  dark-colored  rocks, 
on  which  several  large  vessels  have  been  wrecked,  and 
many  lives  lost.  The  view  from  the  sea  is  exceedingly 
picturesque,  overlooking  rich  groves  of  dates,  palms, 
and  other  trees,  with  Malabar  Hills  and  its  country 
houses  three  miles  behind  ;  while  far  in  the  distance  are 
to  be  seen  the  superb  Ghauts,  towering  to  the  skies. 
A  Persian  introduced  himself  to  me,  saying  that  he 
kept  an  hotel  in  a  very  central  situation  in  Bomba\-, 
and  requested  me  to  stop  there.  He  stated  that  he 
would  charge  me  no  more  than  two  rupees  per  day, 
everything  included,  even  ice  at  every  meal ;  of 
course  liquors  were  excepted.  We  were  to  have 
coffee  or  tea,  and  three  courses  of  food  at  each  of  the 
three  meals ;  and  in  addition,  ice,  vegetables,  fruits,  and 
other  ingredients.  I  found  a  German  friend  of  mine 
lodging  in  the  hotel,  in  whose  company  1  had  been 
traveling  in  China.  We  were  both  glad  to  meet,  and 
together  we  visited  Bombay  and  its  environs. 

I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Italian  Consul,  the  gentlemanly 
and  obliging  Mr.  Gordona,  a  native  of  Genoa,  who  in- 
formed me  concerning  many  interesting  points.  Then 
(406) 


BOMB  A  Y. 


407 


I  paid  a  visit  to  my  bankers,  who  afforded  me  great  as- 
sistance in  my  visit  to  the  Buddhist  excavations.  But 
what  was  my  pleasant  surprise  when  in  Bombay  to 
meet  my  old  friends,  Dr.  Carlo  Barzilai,  Marquis  Giam- 

battista   Viola,    and  -Marquis   .      The    two    latter 

were  stopping  at  the  Club,  but  the  Doctor  had  taken 
his  lodging  at  Watson's  Hotel,  Esplanade.  We  made 
arrangements  to  sail  together  for  Italy  under  the  Italian 


flag,    by   one    of    the    Rubattino    &    Co.    Italian    ^lail 
steamers  which  was  to  lca\c  in  about  two  weeks. 

The  Presidency  of  Bombay  now  makes  a  strip  900 
miles  long,  from  the  further  limit  of  Siiule  to  Mysore, 
with  a  population  (;f  mtjre  than  fourteen  millions,  over 
an  area  (jf  127,532  scpiare  miles.  It  is  surprising  that 
the  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Bombay  and   I'oona,  which, 


4o8  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

excepting  Hyderabad's  Vicariate-Apostolic,  and  Goa, 
comprehends  the  whole  Presidency,  has  only  21,000 
Catholics.  What  a  contrast  between  Ceylon,  South 
India,  and  Bombay,  and  that  number  includes  all  for- 
eigners and  Catholics  of  the  army  and  civil  officers  ;  the 
British  soldiers  are  9,550;  a  good  number  of  them  are 
Catholics.  The  number  of  foreigners  is  still  increased 
by  the  fact  that  Bombay  is  the  headquarters  of  many 
lines  of  steamers  and  sailing  vessels.  This  number  of 
Catholics,  however,  does  not  include  those  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Goa.^''  In  this  Vica- 
riate there  are  only  nine  churches,  thirty-one  chapels, 
and  seventy-two  priests.  "  Messis  qiiidem  paiua  opcrarii 
aiitcm  imiltiy  However  this  must  be  explained,  that  as 
the  British  army  and  British  civil  ollficers  are  scattered 
through  a  vast  territory,  and  the  most  of  the  mission- 
aries are  army  chaplains,  they  must  be  divided  into  a 
large  section  of  the  country. 

I  and  my  German  friend  arranged  to  visit  the  fa- 
mous Kdnhh-i\  caves.  I  telegraphed  the  master  of 
Bhandoop,  which  is  the  nearest  railroad  station  to  these 
caves,  to  engage  a  guide,  and  have  a  carriage  ready  for 
the  caves  on  our  arrival  by  the  first  train  of  next  day 
from  Bombay.  At  the  hotel  we  provided  ourselves 
with  cooked  provisions,  a  bottle  of  wine  and  some 
brandy,  and  punctually  at  the  appointed  time  we  were 
at  Bhandoop.  The  Parsees,  who  have  nearly  the  entire 
control  and  management  of  this  railway,  were  polite 
and  obliging.  The  station-master  had  procured  a  good 
guide,  but  we  did  not  like  the  team,  which  was  an  open 


*  See  the  Madras  Catholic  Directory  and  General  Annual  Register 
for  the  year  of  our  Lord  1877.  Madras  :  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Rom- 
bay  and  Poona. 

f  KdtihM  is  the  native  name  of  the  hills,  where  the  caves  are,  from 
KAnhdgiri  (the  Hill  of  KAnhd),  now  contracted  and  corrupted. 


BAD  ROADS  AND  GREA  T  HEA  T. 


409 


ox-cart.  I  insisted  upon  having  a  covered  horse  car- 
riage, but  this  could  not  be  procured ;  therefore  we 
were  compelled  to  be  contented  with  a  two-bullock 
cart  covered  with  bamboo  and  limbs  of  other  trees ; 
and  it  was  very  providential,  because  we  could  have 
never  reached  the  caves  with  any  other  kind  of  convey- 
ance. Some  straw  formed  our  lounge  or  seat ;  we 
accommodated  ourselves  in  the  best  manner  that  we 
could,  but  we  were  obliged  to  hold  firmly  to  the  cart, 
because  we  were  continually  sliding  off. 

For  the  first  two  miles  the  road  was  good,  but  when 
we  branched  off  through  the  wood,  the  road  became 
abominable.  The  heat  was  unbearable,  and  in  the  close 
and  thick  woods  there  was  hardly  air  enough  to  breathe. 
The  bullocks  seemed  to  become  exhausted,  and  fell 
several  times.  We  crossed  many  brooks,  and  once  or 
twice  the  bullocks  were  refreshed.  The  cart  was  more 
than  once  on  the  point  of  upsetting,  and  it  would  be 
useless  to  mention  that  the  branches  of  the  trees  as  we 
passed  had  nearly  stripped  the  cart  of  the  bamboo 
cover.  Yet  we  enjoyed  some  beautiful  and  romantic 
scenery,  all  savage  and  wild  ;  as  it  was  sometimes  coasting 
profiles  of  mountain,  while  at  other  times  it  seemed  as 
though  we  were  lost  in  the  dense,  somber,  and  majestic 
woods,  when  all  at  once  the  cart  emerged  into  an  open 
space  presenting  a  new,  but  still  more  threatening,  as- 
pect of  affairs.  Here  the  road  became  so  stony  and 
steep  that  we  preferred  to  get  out  of  the  cart  and  walk. 
In  a  bad  passage  one  of  the  bullocks  fell  and  would  not 
rise ;  the  cart  came  very  near  tipping  over,  and  re- 
mained with  fjiic  wheel  over  a  bank,  while  the  other 
was  down  in  a  funcnv.  We  tried  to  get  out  of  the 
cart,  but  the  n^ad  was  so  narrow  that  I  was  obliged 
to  get  out  by  the  front,  sliding  between  the  cart  and 
the  bullock  which  was  standing,  and  he  gave  me  a  kick 
18 


4IO 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


in  the  leg,  but,  thanks  to  God,  I  was  too  close  to  the 
animal,  so  I  was  not  hurt  much,  but  had  I  been  far 
enough  to  give  to  the  bullock  space  to  stretch  his  leg, 
I  might  have  been  very  seriously  hurt. 

Finally  we  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  ;  the 
bullocks  were  taken  out  of  the  cart,  tied  and  fed  ;  our 
guide  took  our  provisions  and  led  us  through  a  narrow 
path,  the  ascent  of  the  mountain.  It  was  about  noon, 
very  hot  and  sultry ;  and  although  I  had  a  panama  hat 
and  umbrella,  yet  I  was  oppressed  by  the  heat ;  and  I 
found  climbing  the  mountain  very  fatiguing  and  ex- 
hausting, especially  as  the  mountain  was  closing  from 
us  every  particle  of  air.  I  could  hardly  go  any  further, 
but  our  guide  assured  me  positively  that  the  Grand  Cave 
was  only  a  few  rods  from  us.  I  made  the  last  effort  to 
proceed,  and  finally  we  reached  the  long  veranda  of  a 
ViJiarar  Exhausted  and  panting,  I  threw  myself  on 
the  ground  outside  the  veranda  to  get  fresh  air,  while 
the  mountain  sheltered  us  from  the  piercing  rays  of  an 
Indian  blazing  sun.  The  Buddhist  priest  in  charge  of 
the  cave  came  out  with  a  mat,  spread  it,  and  bid  me 
lie  on  it.  The  guide  brought  our  provisions ;  my  Ger- 
man friend  commenced  to  cat,  but  I  could  touch  noth- 
ing, except  a  little  wine  and  some  water,  which  our 
guide  took  from  one  of  the  Pondliis,\  which  I  found 
as  cold  as  ice.  While  my  companion  was  eating,  I 
rested  sufficiently  to  be  able  U)  take  some  refreshment, 
after  which  we  went  to  see  the  ca\'es. 

The  caves  are  about  one  hundred  in  number,  hol- 
lowed out  of  a  large  hill,  in  a  tract  of  a  thick  forest. 
Its  hard  top  is  nearly  bare,  but  the  strata  below  are 
softer,  and  here  the  caves  have  been  formed.  The  first 
one  reached  is  an  unfinished  cave  of  the  ninth  or  tenth 


*  Vihilra  means  monastery.  f  Pondhis  means  cistern. 


THE  kInH^RI  CA  VES.  4 1 1 

century ;  then  come  a  group,  which  includes  the  Great 
Cave.  The  foremost  of  these  is  a  Vihara,  with  a  long 
veranda  (reaching  to  the  Great  Cave),  and  cells  at  the 
back,  containing  two  sanctuaries  and  Daghops."  In  a 
recess  near  the  southern  Daghop  arc  sitting  figures  of 
Buddha  and  Bodhisatwas ;  and  behind  the  northern 
one  is  a  figure  of  Buddha  seated  on  a  lion  throne  and 
lotus.  The  execution  of  these  figures  is  only  middling. 
The  Great  Temple  is  88.j  feet  long  by  38^-  broad,  hewn 
out  of  the  solid  rock,  and  it  has  a  vaulted  nave  40  feet 
high,  resting  on  34  pillars,  and  flanked  by  aisles  of  a 
lower  elevation.  The  pillars — some  round  and  some 
octagonal — -are  cut  in  a  bold  style,  with  no  sculptures 
on  them,  except  in  the  capitals,  where  you  see  a  small 
daghop  between  elephants,  horses,  lions,  etc.  At  the 
upper  end  is  a  domed  daghop  of  solid  rock,  19  feet 
high  and  49  feet  round,  supposed  to  be  a  symbol  of 
Shiva.  The  vault  of  the  roof  is  lined  with  slender  ribs 
of  teak,  as  if  for  hanging  lamps  to,  during  the  festivals. 
What  few  inscriptions  are  seen  are  in  Sanskrit.  There 
is  no  light  except  from  the  entrance,  in  front  of  which 
a  portico  or  court  has  been  made,  as  broad  and  lofty 
as  the  temple,  and  richly  decorated,  with  colossal 
niched  figures  of  Buddha  on  each  side,  besides  the 
smaller  figures  and  groups  on  the  screen  facing  it.  The 
total  length  of  the  temple,  portico,  and  area  approach- 
ing it,  is  142  feet. 

Further  up  the  hill  are  flights  of  stc[)s  leading  to  the 
summit  or  to  smaller  caves,  or  Viharas,  consisting  of 
two  rooms,  each  12  by  15  feet  square,  with  an  entrance 
I^ortico,  and  stone  cisterns  svip|)lied  by  the  water  which 
trickles  through  the  porous  rock.    .Some  are  better  dec- 


*  Daj^hops,  or  DhAj,'ob  (from  the  Sanskrit  DhdtugarbJia,  the  recep- 
tacle of  elementsj,  or  Dehai;upta  (the  holder  or  concealer  of  a  body). 


412  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

orated  than  the  others  with  figures  of  Buddha  on  the 
lotus,  etc.  ;  but  they  are  inferior,  on  the  whole,  to  the 
large  temple.  A  little  northward,  down  a  glen,  is  an- 
other group  of  caves,  near  which  is  the  Durbar  Cave, 
96X  feet  by  42 j[^  feet,  with  a  broad  stone  bench,  and 
columns  round  the  three  sides,  but  only  9  feet  high. 
Its  veranda  rests  on  eight  plain  pillars.  Opposite  this 
is  a  large  natural  cave,  and  further  on  are  twenty  or 
thirty  more  caves,  formerly  the  abodes  of  monks  or  her- 
mits. Traces  of  plaster  and  painting  are  still  observ- 
able in  nearly  all  the  caves.  They  are  supposed  to  be 
the  work  of  a  party  of  Buddhists  after  their  expulsion 
from  Karla  (or  Karli).  On  different  parts  of  the  hill  are 
the  remainsof  masonry,  terraces,  and  gardens.  From  the 
summit  of  the  mountain  we  enjoyed  an  extensive  view 
all  round.  The  island  of  Salsettc  appears  like  a  map, 
presenting  a  fine  champaign  of  rice-fields,  cocoa-nut 
groves,  villages,  cattle,  woody  hills,  and  fertile  vales. 
The  surrounding  mountains  form  a  foreground  of  gray 
rocks  covered  with  trees,  or  hollowed  into  caverns,  the 
haunts  of  tigers,  serpents,  bats,  and  bees.  On  the 
south  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  island  of  Bombay, 
with  the  harbor  and  shipping  ;  east  by  the  continent  ; 
north  by  Bassein  and  the  adjacent  mountains ;  and 
west  by  the  ocean.  In  various  parts  of  Salsctte  are 
romantic  views,  embellished  by  the  ruins  of  Portuguese 
churches,  convents,  and  villas — once  large  and  splendid, 
but  allowed  to  decay  since  the  Mahrattas  conquered 
the  island. 

Having  given  some  presents  in  money  to  the  Bud- 
dhist priests  or  the  keeper  of  the  caves,  we  descended 
the  mountain,  the  descent  being  much  UKjre  rapid  than 
the  ascent.  The  bullock  cart  was  soon  ready,  and  we 
were  back  at  Bhandoop  in  time  to  meet  the  last  train 
for  Bombay. 


DE  COUTO'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CAVES. 


413 


The  Portuguese  historian,  Dc  Cotito,  relying  on  the 
accounts  given  by  his  countrymen  resident  in  India, 
thus  speaks  of  the  caves  of  Kanh^ri  in  Salsette  : 

"  In  the  center  of  this  island  there  exists  that  won- 
derful Pagoda  of  Canari,  thus  called  from  its  being 
supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  the  Canaras.*  It 
is  constructed  at  the  foot  of  a  great  hill  of  stone  of 
light  gray  color;  there  is  a  beautiful  hall  at  its  entrance, 
and  in  the  yard  that  leads  to  the  front  back-door  there 
are  two  human  figures  engraved  on  the  same  stone, 
twice  as  big  as  the  giants  exhibited  in  the  procession 
of  the  Corpus  Christi  Feast  in  Lisbon,  so  beautiful,  ele- 
gant, and  so  well  executed,  that  even  in  silver  they 
could  not  be  better  wrought  and  made  with  such  per- 
fection. This  front  door  has  some  cisterns  hewn  out 
of  the  same  rock,  which  receive  the  rain-water,  and  it 
is  so  cold  in  the  summer  that  there  is  no  liand  that  can 
bear  it.  From  the  foot  to  the  top  of  the  hill  there  are 
more  than  three  thousand  small  rooms  like  cells,  cut 
out  of  the  same  rock  in  the  shape  of  snail-shells,  and 
each  of  them  has  a  cistern  with  the  same  water  at  the 
door ;  and  what  is  more  to  be  wondered  at  is,  that 
there  is  an  aqueduct  constructed  so  ingeniously,  that 
it  passes  through  all  the  three  thousand  apartments, 
receives  all  the  water  from  that  hill,  and  sup[)lies  it  to 
the  cisterns  that  are  at  the  doors  of  the  rooms.  Dur- 
ing the  residence  of  the  Rev.  Father  Antom'o  de  Porto 
in  the  Church  of  St.  Michael,  he  was  told  by  the  Chris- 
tians, whom  he  had  converted,  that  there  was  a  laby- 
rinth in  that  hill  whose  end  had  never  been  traced,  and 
it  was,  moreover,  stated,  that  it  extended  as  far  as  Cam- 
bay.  The  priest,  desirous  of  getting  in  to  sec  this  won- 
der and   the   magnitude   of  this  work,  about  which   so 

*  See  p.  408. 


414  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

much  was  said,  took  one  of  his  companions,  and  col- 
lected twenty  persons,  with  arms  and  match-locks  to 
defend  themselves  against  wild  beasts,  and  some  serv- 
ants to  carry  the  necessary  provisions  for  the  journe\-, 
namely,  water,  rice,  biscuits,  vegetables,  etc.,  and  some 
oil  for  the  torches,  which  were  taken  to  light  the  place, 
in  order  that  they  might  see  their  way  through  ;  and 
they  also  took  three  persons  provided  with  bundles  of 
strong  ropes  for  the  purpose  of  laying  it  alongside  of 
their  way  as  they  proceeded,  as  was  done  by  those  who 
entered  the  labyrinth  of  Crete.  Thus  prepared,  they 
entered  the  caves  b}'  an  entrance  about  four  fathoms  in 
breadth,  where  they  placed  a  large  stone,  to  which  they 
fastened  the  point  (jf  the  ropes.  The}-  traveled  through 
the  caves  for  seven  days,  without  any  interruption, 
through  places  some  of  them  wide,  and  others  narrow, 
which  were  hollowed  in  tlie  rock,  and  on  each  side  they 
saw  small  chambers  like  those  in  the  pagoda  above 
mentioned,  each  of  which  had  at  its  entrance  a  cirtern, 
but  no  one  could  say  whether  these  cisterns  contained 
any  water,  or  how  they  could  receive  an\-,  for  in  all 
these  passages  the)'  could  not  discover  an\'  hole,  crev- 
ice, or  anything  which  could  throw  an\'  light  on  the 
subject.  The  upper  part  of  the  building  was  cut  out 
of  the  same  rock,  and  the  walls  on  each  side  of  the 
roads  were  done  in  the  same  v.ay.  The  priest,  seeing 
that  they  had  expended  seven  days  without  being  able 
to  find  an\'  opening,  and  that  the  provisions  and  water 
had  been  almost  consumed,  thought  it  necessary  to 
return,  taking  for  his  clue  the  ro[)e,  \vithout  knowing 
in  these  windings  whether  he  was  proceeding  up  or 
down,  or  what  course  they  were  steering,  as  they  had 
no  compass  for  their  guidance.  Having  seen  that  these 
priests  traveled  through  it  seven  days  without  taking 
any  rest,   except   at   dinner  and   sleeping  hours,  they 


A  SILLY  VICAR.  415 

must  have  traveled  at  least  six  leagues  every  day,  which 
in  seven  days  would  amount  to  forty-two  leagues,  it 
appears  to  me  that  what  the  Hindoo  said,  that  it 
reaches  as  far  as  Cambay,  may  be  true,  because  the 
island  of  Salsette  at  most  is  only  four  leagues  long,  and 
the  labyrinth  is  in  the  center  of  the  island.  To  say 
that  the  road  could  have  many  windings,  and  be  so 
intricate  as  to  make  them  spend  seven  days,  is  im- 
possible, the  island  (as  I  said)  being  very  small  and 
narrow." 

Next  day  being  Sunday  I  went  to  say  Mass  at  the 
chapel  of  our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel,  it  being  the 
nearest  church  to  the  hotel  where  I  was  staying.  His 
lordship,  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Gabriel  Leo  Meurin,  was  in 
Malabar,  and  I  applied  to  his  Vicar,  Very  Rev.  N. 
Pagani,  an  Italian,  who,  quasi  aiithoritatcui  Jiahcns^  asked 
for  my  papers,  which  I  presented  at  once.  He  read 
them  over  and  over  again  with  great  attention,  and  now 
and  then  stopped  to  reflect  on  them  ;  they  were  wTitten 
in  Latin.  I  told  him, ''  If  these  letters  do  not  satisfy  you, 
I  can  sliow  a  letter  from  his  Eminence  Cardinal  Franchi, 
written  in  the  Italian  language."  '"'  No,  no,"  he  replied, 
handing  me  back  the  letter.  After  a  little  conversa- 
tion about  the  hotel  where  I  stopped,  he  asked  me 
again  for  the  letter,  went  to  his  desk,  and  looked  at  it 
attentively.  He  appeared  to  me  very  silly.  He  re- 
turned the  letter,  and  said  I  could  say  Mass  in  fifteen 
minutes ;  but  before  I  went  to  say  ^lass  he  asked  for 
the  papers  again,  and  rccjucstcd  me  to  leave  them  in  his 
hands  while  I  was  saying  Mass.  After  Mass  I  accepted 
an  invitati(jn  to  breakfast  there  ;  but  I  asked  for  my 
papers,  which  he  returned,  saying  that  he  had  taken  a 
copy  of  them.  I  wondered  wliether  he  intended  to 
hold  a  consultation  on  them,  or  to  send  a  cable  dis- 
patch to  Rome  or  to  America  !     I  felt  so  disgusted  with 


4i6 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


his  rude,  childish,  and  silly  manner  of  acting,  that  I  de- 
termined to  have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  man  during 
my  stay  in  Bombay,  regretting  very  much  that  I  had 
not  gone  to  one  of  the  churches  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Goa,  or  said  Mass  at  the  hotel. 
I  do  not  wonder  that  in  the  entire  vicariate  there  arc 


r\KSl  I     WOMW 


no  more  than  21,000  Catholics.  This  manner  of  acting 
must  alienate  rather  than  convert  infidels.  Neither  do 
I  wonder  that  Bishop  Melius,  in  Malabar,  would  not  sub- 
mit to  the  proceedings  of  the  Bombay  Vicar-Apostolic. 
In  the  afternoon,  in  company  with  my  German  friend, 
I  went  to  see  the  light-house  on  Colaba  Point.  The 
observatory  was  worth  seeing.     Next  day  we  employed 


A  PARSER  MARRIAGE-FEAST.  417 

in  visiting  the  museums.  In  the  evening,  strolling 
through  the  city,  we  saw  several  temples,  but  were  not 
permitted  to  enter  them.  We  passed  by  a  Parsee  house, 
which  was  all  illuminated  inside  and  outside.  We 
stopped  to  observe  it,  and  heard  a  number  of  female 
voices  singing.  We  were  told  that  a  Parsee  marriage- 
feast  was  taking  place.  There  was  a  flight  of  steps 
leading  to  the  house,  whose  door  was  fully  open.  We 
were  permitted  to  look  into  the  house,  but  not  allowed 
to  enter  it.  We  saw  ten  Parsee  women,  all  married, 
singing  and  keeping  time  by  striking  their  hands.  They 
formed  a  circle,  and  were  going  round  slowly,  according 
to  the  tune.  In  the  middle  there  was  an  unoccupied 
chair,  placed  there  to  keep  the  center  of  the  dance. 
The  song  was  a  national  air,  felicitating  the  happy 
couple,  and  wishing  them  joy  and  glorious  long  life. 
The  groom  was  present  at  the  door,  explaining  to  us 
the  meaning  of  the  ceremony.  He  was  dressed  all  in 
white,  ornamented  with  gold,  precious  stones,  rings, 
gold  chains,  etc.  The  bride  was  not  there,  but  at  her 
father's  house.  This  was  only  the  eve  of  the  marriage, 
which  was  to  be  solemnized  the  next  day  at  the  grand 
Fire-Temple.  The  house  had  an  outdoor  portico,  with 
four  pillars,  and  it  was  tastefully  illuminated.  The 
dance  was  taking  place  in  the  inner  portico,  which  was 
longer  and  larger  than  the  outdoor  portico.  We  wished 
a  happy  marriage  to  the  groom  and  retired. 

yVfter  visiting  the  native  town  and  bazars,  which  were 
similar  to  others  in  India,  we  went  t/)  l^yculla  ;  and  on 
the  way  we  saw  the  fruit  and  vegetable  market,  which 
was  abundantly  jirovidcd  with  a  great  variety.  We 
passed  many  Hindoo  and  Mohanunedan  temples,  some 
of  which  we  were  iKJt  allowed  to  enter;  but  there  was 
nothing  grand  in  them,  and  they  were  similar  to  those 
vvhich  we  had  seen  in  other  parts  of  India. 


4i8 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


We  visited  a  German  gentleman  married  to  an  Italian 
lady;  and  in  conversation  with  them  the  lady  told  me 
that  she  was  tired  of  India;  she  did  not  like  it,  and 
was  anxious  to  return  to  Italy,  or  to  live  in  any  other 
country,  but  not  in  India. 

We  made  a  party  of  over  twenty,  between  gentle- 
men and  ladies,  to  visit  the  celebrated  Elcphanta  Caves, 
situated  in  the  beautiful  isle  of  Elephanta,  in  the  Bom- 
bay harbor.  A  gentleman,  proprietor  of  a  hotel,  took 
charge  of   the  expedition,  and  was  to  provide  a  small 


(:A\K     rKMPI.K,    ISLAND    OF    F.I.F.PH ANTA,    INDIA. 


steamer,  carriages,  to  furnish  a  meal,  and  pa\-  all  expenses, 
except  a  fee  to  the  proprietor  or  keeper  of  tlic  caves,  by 
issuing  tickets  for  3  rupees  8  annas  each  ;  and,  at  I  P.M., 
we  were  to  assemble  at  his  hotel,  where  I  was  glad  to  si-c 
amongst  our  part}'  that  gentleman  and  lad\'  from  Haiti- 
more  whom  I  had  met  in  Delhi.  Some  of  the  pLU't\- 
had  already  gone  to  the  place  where  the  steamboat  v\-as, 
and  two  carriages  were  ready  at  the  hotel  to  convey  us 
assembled  there.  The  Baltimorean  gentleman  and  lady, 
three   ladies  from  Bombay,  my  German  friend  and   I 


THE  ELEPHANTA  CA  VES. 


419 


occupied  the  first  carriage,  and  one  of  the  three  Bombay 
hidies  offered  to  direct  the  carriage  to  the  place  where 
the  steamer  was,  saying  that  she  knew  the  place  well ; 
none  of  us,  not  even  the  driver,  knew  the  locality.  Off 
the  carriage  went.  We  felt  very  happy,  expecting  a  good 
time.  The  others  occupied  the  second  carriage  under 
the  leadership  of  the  gentleman  head  of  the  party. 

We  arrived  at  the  place  indicated  by  the  lady, 
but  no  steamer  could  be  found,  nor  anybody  to  in- 
form us  of  its  whereabouts.  The  lady  then  directed  the 
driver  to  the  Mazai^anni  Bandar ;'^  but  there  was  no 
steamer  there.  On  inquiry  we  were  told  that  the 
steamer  was  accustomed  to  leave  from  the  Apollo  Pier. 
Off  we  drove  for  the  Apollo  Pier  ;  but  there  was  no 
steamer  there.  The  lady  now  felt  quite  flat,  and  did 
.not  know  what  to  do.  We  (only  the  men)  then  took 
the  leadership  into  our  own  hands ;  but  we  scarcely  ex- 
pected to  find  the  steamer,  being  nearly  one  hour  and  a 
half  late,  and  naturally  reflected  that  the  party  had  gone 
without  us.  As  the  next  day  was  appointed  for  the 
Baltimorean  gentleman  and  lady  to  sail  for  Europe,  they 
were  anxious  to  see  these  famous  caves.  At  last  we 
were  told  of  the  true  place  where  the  steamer  was. 
The  driver  made  the  horses  fly  for  it ;  but  lo  !  the  steamer 
had  gone  long  ago.  We  consulted  what  was  to  be 
done.  .Some  sailors  offered  to  convey  us  to  Elephanta 
for  a  reasonable  price.  We  accepted  it  ;  but  the  ladies 
refused.  In  vain  I  tried  to  persuade  the  15altimorean 
lady;  they  were  all  afraid,  especially  as  the  boat  could 
not  ajjproach  the  shore  on  account  of  many  rocks, 
which  we  were  (obliged  to  cross.  Our  small  party,  only 
three  gentlemen,  boarded  the  boat,  and  with  a  strong 
wind  and  favorable  tide,  we  soon  sighted  the  steamer, 
and  reached    Elephanta  landing  just   five  minutes  after 

*  Bandar,  i)icr  or  wharf. 


420 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


the  arrival  of  the  steamer.     We  found  the  party  partak- 
ing of  lunch,  and  most  willingly  joined  them. 

The  isle  derives  its  European  name  from  the  colossal 
statue  of  an  elephant,  which  formerly  stood  near  one  of 
the  landing  places,  but  now  removed  to  Bombay  and 
placed  in  the  Victoria  Gardens.  A  flight  of  steps  leads 
up  the  hill.  Two  massive  pillars,  with  a  pilaster  on  each 
side,  appear  as  if  to  support  the  superincumbent  weight 
of  the  entrance.  The  principal  excavations  here  con- 
sist of  a  grand  temple  consecrated  to  Shiva  (130  feet 
long  and  133  feet  broad),  including  (to  the  right)  a  shrine 
{or  3.  li?igam  ;  and  of  two  small  chapels,  with  open  courts 
before  them.  The  height  of  the  whole  excavation  is  very 
insignificant.  The  whole  temple,  and  all  its  mythological 
and  ornamental  figures,  are  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock. 
The  roof  is  supported  by  rows  of  pillars,  with  cushion- 
like capitals  standing  under  immense  stone  beams  and 
rafters. 

Fronting  the  entrance  of  the  large  temple,  but  at  its 
extremity,  is  the  great  Trhniirti,  or  image,  with  three 
heads  combined,  about  nineteen  feet  in  height,  though 
it  extends  only  from  the  shoulders  upward.  This 
is  Shiva,  possessed  of  the  three  functions — of  crea- 
tion, preservation,  and  destruction — and  personified 
with  the  active  attributes  ascribed  respectively  to  Brah- 
ma, Vishnu,  and  Shiva.  The  front  face  is  that  of  Shiva 
as  Brahma,  the  god  of  prayer  or  the  word,  in  whom  the 
creative  energy  is  thought  to  center.  The  face  to  the 
right  of  the  spectator  is  that  of  Shiva  as  VisJinu,  the 
god  of  preservation,  recognized  by  his  purer  appearance 
and  his  symbol,  the  lotus.  The  face  to  the  left  of  the 
spectator  is  that  of  Shiva,  as  the  destroyer,  recognized 
by  his  fierce  aspect,  the  feline  moustache,  the  slobber 
ing  lip,  the  terrific  serpents  in  his  hand  and  forming  his 
hair,  his  prominent  brow,  and  the  skull  near  his  temples. 


T MAGES  OF  SHIVA. 


421 


The  composite  bust,  which  is  unique  in  point  size  of 
and  execution,  is  remarkable  for  its  headdresses,  repre- 
senting simple  royal  diadems,  with  pearl  pendants  and 
precious  stones  set  in  gold  or  silver,  and  necklaces  and 
earrings  and  other  ornaments,  mixed  with  curled  locks, 
which  throw  light  on  the  capital  and  thoracic  adorn- 
ments of  the  kingly  natives  before  the  introduction  of 
the  turban. 

To  the  right  of  the  spectator,  from  the  Trimurfi ,  Shiva., 
in  the  form  of  the  Chatarbhiijakar,  or  four-handed,  and 
his  wife,  Parvati,  appear,  standing  upright,  with  their 
attendants,  some  of  whom,  below,  are  jovial  ganas  and 
pishachas,  mythological  demons,*  belonging  to  their 
suite,  while  those  in  the  aerial  regions  above  are  speci- 
mens of  famishing  devotees  and  ascetics,  of  which  Shiva 
himself,  as  we  have  already  hinted,  is  the  chief  In 
this  and  other  groups  we  observe  the  presence  of  the 
other  deities  of  the  Hindoo  Pantheon,  in  a  uholl)'  sub- 
ordinate form  and  position,  Parvati  without  any  mon- 
strosity. There  is  no  monstrosity  in  any  of  the  perfect 
female  forms  in  these  caves.  Brahma,  with  his  four 
faces  (three  only  of  w^iich  are  visible),  seated  upon  his 
valiaiia  (wagon)  of  geese  (emblems  of  wisdom) ;  Iiidra, 
upon  his  elephant,  Airavafi ;  and  Vis/iiiu,  mounted 
upon  the  personified  Garnda,  the  lord  of  cai^lcs,  b\^ 
whom  he  is  thought  to  fly  through  the  sky. 

To  the  spectator's  left  from  the  triniurli,  Shi\a  and 
Parvati  ap})ear  in  a  half-male  and  half-female  form  (ac- 
cording to  the  Hindoo  legend),  with  gods,  and  male 
and  female  attendants  allotted  to  them  respectively, 
and  with  adoring  ascetics  abm-e.  Here,  instead  of  the 
bull — the  conveyancer  of  .Shiva — a[)pears  the  Gavd,  the 


*This  is  not,  however,  exactly  their  character.     They  are  really  a 
species  of  "  odd-fellows,"  in  whom  fun  and  frolic  are.  predominant. 


422  A    TOUR  IN'  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Bos  Gavmis  of  naturalists,  mentioned  in  the  Vcdas  as 
an  article  of  food. 

Now  passing  to  No.  2,  to  the  left,  we  see  a  group  rep- 
resenting the  marriage  of  Shiva  to  Parvati,  with  tHe 
bashful  bride  pushed  forward  by  a  ministering  attendant 
on  the  right  of  the  bridegroom,  a  position  which  he 
occupies  only  on  the  day  of  marriage.  Close  to  Shiva 
is  a  priest,  holding  a  vessel  with  the  substances  for  the 
bridal  unction.  The  other  gods,  etc.,  arc  here  (as  in  a 
group),  with  Brahma  sitting  in  the  corner. 

On  the  opposite  wall  of  the  temple,  close  to  the 
saccllum,  is  Shiva  in  his  character  of  Bhairainr  tlie  for- 
midable, fierce  in  countenance,  with  swollen  eyes  and 
set  lips  ;  with  a  garland  of  human  heads  suspended  from 
his  neck,  instead  of  the  Brahminical  string;  with  eight 
hands  (now  partly  broken),  all  employed  in  effecting  a 
human  sacrifice,  that  of  a  child.  This  child  he  holds 
upraised  in  one  hand,  while  he  has  a  bare  sword  to 
strike  the  f^ital  blow  in  another,  a  bell  to  intimate  the 
appointed  moment  in  a  third,  and  a  vessel  to  receive 
the  blood  in  a  fourth.  The  ascetics  above  arc  in  horror 
and  amazed  at  this  development  of  the  destructive 
powers  of  their  master.  In  the  center  of  their  row  (oc- 
curs the  mystical  trisyllabic  symbol  Aiii?i  ioxn),  applied 
as  comprehending  each  person  of  the  triad. 

Crossing  the  temple  to  the  corresponding  apartment 
on  the  other  side,  we  have  Shiva  and  Parvati  in  the  en- 
joyment of  connubial  bliss  in  their  heaven,  upheld, 
when  shaken  by  the  many-headed  and  many-hantlcd 
Ravaiia,  the  demon-king  of  I.anka.  Directly  opposite 
to  this  group  is  another  ill  iV;-ation  of  the  domestic  life 
of  Shiva  and  Parvati,  husband  and  wife  showing  signs 
of  dissatisfaction  with,  and  aversicjn  to,  one  another. 
In  the  great  temple  the  groups  at  the  entrance  repre- 
sent Shiva  s'ittiitg  as  an  ascetic,  with  accompaniments 


THE  PARSERS. 


423 


the  same  as  in  other  instances.  The  position  in  which 
he  is  squatted  is  a  favorite  one  with  Hindoo  devotees 
and  Buddhists. 

Of  the  two  chapels,  that  to  the  left  hand  lias  a  court, 
long  filled  up  with  earth  ;  there  is  a  low,  circular  plat- 
form where  the  bull,  doing  honor  to  the  distant  sacel- 
lum  of  the  great  temple,  must  have  been  placed.  To 
the  right  hand  of  the  chapel  is  an  apartment  showing  a 
procession  of  women  carrying  infants,  etc.,  as  on  the 
occasion  of  a  marriage  with  Shiva,  in  his  proper  person, 
confronting  his  cor})ulent  son  Ganapati,  with  his  large 
belly  antl  elephant's  head.  He  came  into  existence,  it 
is  said,  in  a  perfect  human  form.  His  mother  was  so 
charmed  w  ith  his  api)earance  at  his  birth,  that  she  in- 
vited all  the  gods  to  come  to  get  a  peep  of  him  as  he 
lay  on  his  infantile  couch.  They  all  responded  at  her 
command  ;  but  one  of  them,  Shani,  now  the  unlucky 
planet  Saturn,  froin  love  to  the  child  and  mother,  was 
rather  slow  to  look  at  the  darling.  i-'^)r  his  hesitation  he 
was  rebuked  by  Parvati,  and  rather  than  incur  her  per- 
manent displeasure,  he  took  a  hasty  glance  at  the  child. 
The  consequence  was,  that  the  child's  head  instantly 
withered  awa\-,  while  the  mother  exjjcriencetl  the  agony 
of  despair  in  its  most  acute  form.  But  .Shani,  to  con- 
sole her,  promised  that  he  would  substitute  the  head  of 
the  first  one  who  happened  to  pass  b)'.  An  elephant 
was  the  first  being  that  ha])pene(I  to  pass,  and  of  this 
huge  animal  he  chop[)c(l  off  the  head  and  placed  it  on 
the  trunk  of  the-  cliild,  where  il  still  remains.  'i"he  bell)', 
arms,  and  legs  of  the  young  one-  soon  assumed  a  gigan- 
tic form.  I)ue  faniilx'  provision  was  niadi-  for  ("iana|)atl. 
A  rat  was  [)rovi(led  for  him  to  go  about  on  whenever 
he  might  be  inclined  to  see'k  for  air  and  exi.M"cise. 

Ne.xt  day,  with  my  friend,  I  went  to  see  the  fire- 
temple  of  the  Barsees  ;   we  wei"e  allowed  to  see   it  from 


424 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


the  outside,  but  not  permitted  to  enter  it  to  see  the 
fire.  The  Parsee  ministers  and  priests  reminded  us 
of  the  Pharisees  ;  about  the  rising  and  setting  of  the 
sun  you  can  see  them  walking  around  the  temple  with 
a  prayer-book,  or  often  k'lccling  at  the  sea-shore  turned 
toward  the  sun,  chatting,  laughing,  or  looking  round, 
if  nobody  observ^es  them  ;  but  as  soon  as  some  person 
happens  to  pass  by  or  to  look  at  them,  they  commence 
to  pray,  keeping  the  prayer-book  close  to  the  eyes, 
with  which  they  are  transversely  looking  whether  any 
person  is  gazing  at  them. 

In  the  afternoon  we  took  a  carriage  to  see  the  sub- 
urbs. On  our  return,  over  two  miles  from  the  city,  we 
w-ent  to  see  the  Tozuo'  of  Silence,  which  is  the  ceme- 
tery of  the  Parsees.  This  Tower  of  Silence  i&  located 
on  the  top  of  a  very  high  and  steep  hill,  which  we  were 
obliged  to  climb  on  foot  by  a  winding  and  little  zigzag 
road.  Arrived  at  the  wide  gate,  we  were  not  permitted 
to  enter  nor  even  to  place  a  foot  on  what  they  call 
sacred  land  ;  but  from  the  gate  we  could  look  at  the 
Tower  of  Silence  and  at  the  fire-temple  ;  the  former 
stood  at  our  left,  the  latter  at  our  right.  A  large  yard 
and  a  stone  wall  separated  the  one  from  the  other. 
The  tower  was  a  large,  tall,  round,  a  little  conical-shaped 
stone  tower,  empty  inside,  having  a  large  subterranean 
chamber.  The  top  is  covered  by  an  iron  grate,  where 
the  corpses  of  the  Parsees  arc  laid  entirely  naked, 
and  exposed  to  the  ravens  and  other  birds  of  prey, 
which  in  a  short  time  devour  all  the  flesh  ;  the  bones 
afterward  drop  into  the  tower  through  the  iron  grate. 

These  Parsees  break  the  bones  of  their  dead  in  order 
to  facilitate  them  to  drop  quicker  into  the  interior  of 
the  tower.  Often  they  break  the  bones  before  they 
have  expired,  thus  quickening  the  death.  The  English 
Government  watches  them,  and  punishes  very  severely 


GO  A. 


425 


these  barbarous  and  savage  fanatics  when  convicted  of 
such  horrible  crime  ;  but  the  Parsees  keep  these  crimes 
very  secret,  and  it  is  difficult  to  find  them  out,  and  still 
more  difficult  to  convict  them. 

The  population  of  the  city  is  about  650,000  ;  140,000 
are  Mussulmans,  and  the  Parsees,  who  have  a  i^^ood 
share  in  business,  are  about  450,000.  The  entire 
Catholic  population  is  about  2,430,  includini^  Giri;aum, 
Colaba,  Mazagon,  Byculla,  and  Mahim,  but  not  Sal- 
sette.  The  cit}'  stands  in  sight  of  the  distant  Ghauts  ; 
it  is  flat,  hence  liable  to  inundations,  yet  is  healthy  be- 
cause exposed  to  the  sea  breezes.  People  sta\'  at  Bom- 
bay in  the  cold  season,  from  December  to  h'ebruary  ; 
in  the  warm  season  they  go  on  several  hills,  or  in  some 
of  the  sanitariums. 

Those  visiting  Bombay  should  not  neglect  to  take 
a  trip  to  Goa,  to  visit  the  body  of  St.  Francis  Xa\'ier, 
the  Apostle  of  India.  The  steamers  of  the  British 
India  Steam  Navigation  Company,  weekly  and  both 
ways,  may  touch  Goa.  The  surf  and  high  sea  occa- 
sionally experienced  on  the  Malabar  coast  during  the 
south-west  monsoons,  do  not  allow  the  steamers  to 
call  without  danger.  The  distance  from  Bombay  by 
sea  is  only  250  miles.  Fare  for  cabin  passengers  is 
fifty  rupees  ;  for  deck  passengers,  ten  rupees  ;  but  the 
latter  must  provide  fot)d  by  themseh'cs.  The  cit)'  of 
Goa  is  the  capital  of  all  the  Portuguese  settlements  in 
India,  and  is  situated  on  an  island  of  about  twenty-four 
miles  in  circumference,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mand(jva 
River.  In  reality,  it  consists  of  two  cities,  New  Goa,  or 
[\7)ijiin,  and  Old  Goa.  At  the  former  are  the  Gover- 
nor's and  Archbishop's  palaces,  Custom-house,  Semi- 
nary, and  other  large  buildings  within  the  forts  ;  at  the 
latter,  the  deserted  Old  Goa,  founded  in  15 10  b)'  .Albu- 
querque, there  are  eighty  magnificent  churches — some 


426  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

of  them  now  in  ruins — which  are  excellent  specimens 
of  architecture.  Old  Goa  is  three  miles  further  up  the 
harbor,  near  the  Hindoo  town  which  preceded  it.  Goa 
possesses  two  harbors,  well  defended  by  various  castles 
and  batteries,  mounting  very  heavy  cannon. 

The  people  consist  of  half-castes  and  Hindoos  ;  the 
genuine  Portuguese  are  very  few.  The  air  is  unwhole- 
some. The  population  of  New  Goa,  or  Panjiiii,  is 
9,500  ;  the  old  city  is  entirely  deserted.  The  Portu- 
guese territory  around  contains  1,066  square  miles,  and 
a  population  of  313,000,  mostly  all  Catholics.  There  is 
a  fine  sixty-eight  miles  road  to  Belgaum  via  the  Ram 
Ghaut,  and  another  road  to  Dharwar,  over  a  Ghaut 
2,477  f^^^'t  high. 

When  the  railway  in  progress  from  Carwar,  Dharwar, 
to  Gudducto  is  finished,  perhaps  it  will  be  continued  to 
Pellary,  thus  connecting  with  the  Bomba\'  lines  of  the 
Great  Indian  Peninsula.  Goa  ma}"  construct  a  branch 
to  Carwar,  or  Dharwar,  or  tap  this  branch,  thus  con- 
necting with  the  I'jombay  Great  Indian  Peninsula  Line. 

Although  everything  is  stagnant  and  decaying,  yet  Goa 
carries  on  some  trade  with  the  mother  country,  China, 
and  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  Crown  has  the  monopoly 
of  sugar,  snuff,  pepper,  saltpetre,  pearls,  and  sandal- 
wood. Large  vessels  annualK'  carr\'  the  merchandise 
received  there  from  the  other  Portuguese  colonies,  and 
from  Canton  to  Europe.  The  commerce  is  in  the 
hands  of  Christians  ;  the  smaller  trade  in  those  of  the 
Jews  and  Banians.  The  port  is  only  open  for  the 
Portuguese  flag  ;  but  all  the  rexenues  are  not  sufficient 
to  clear  the  expenses. 

Notwithstanding  this,  Old  Goa  attracts  annually  a 
large  crowd  of  pilgrims  at  the  shrine  where  lies  the 
uncorrupted  body  of  St.  Francis  Xa\'ier,  the  great 
Apostle  of  India.      They  come   not   only   from   every 


COMMERCE  OF  GO  A. 


427 


part    of    India,    but    from    Europe    and    other   distant 
countries,  to  venerate  those  sacred  relics. 

When  in  15  10  Albuquerque  conquered  this  city,  the 
island  was  inhabited  by  an  Arabian  tribe,  and  it  was 
called  Tissuari ;  and  ever  since  1559  it  has  been  the 
residence  of  the  Portusjuese  Governor-General. 


i^^-^i^j~-  -i. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


RF,I,IGION    OF    THE    HINDOOS. 


To  understand  the  religion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
India,  it  is  necessary  to  make  mention  of  the  principal 
casfrs  and  sects  :  The  Brahmins,  who  recognize  a  Su- 
preme Being  in  Brahma ;  the  Jains,  who  profess  a 
modified  Buddhism  ;  the  Buddhists,  who  follow  the 
doctrine  and  religion  of  Buddha  ;  the  Sikhs,  who  pro- 
fess a  religion  which  is  a  mixture  of  Brahminism  and 
Islamism  ;  the  Mussulmans,  who  follow  the  doctrines 
of  Mohammed  ;  the  Thugs,  who  believe  their  robberies 
and  murders  to  be  under  the  protection  of  a  deity  ; 
the  Parsees,  who  follow  the  doctrine  of  Zoroaster  ;  the 
Hindoos,  who  follow  the  doctrines  of  their  sacred  books, 
the  Vedas,  Puranas,  etc. 

The  Si(dras,  of  part  of  Northern  India,  were  an  Aryan 
race.  When  they  were  subdued,  and  became  the  fourth 
caste  of  the  Hindoo  community,  the  word  Sudra  un- 
derwent a  change  of  meaning,  acquiring  the  significa- 
tion which  it  possesses  now.  What  the  religion  of 
these  Aryan  Sudras  was  while  they  were  yet  free,  is 
not  well  known.  When  the  aborigines,  at  a  very  re- 
mote period  of  antiquity,  themselves  entered  India, 
some  appear  to  have  been  hunters  and  others  herds- 
men. The  hunters  were  probably  first  in  the  land, 
then  the  herdsmen  followed,  cleared  away  many  of  the 
forests,  and  established  principalities,  some  of  them  not 
even  yet  totally  extinct.  But  though  some  of  the  wild 
tribes  may  have  been  hunters  and  others  herdsmen, 
they  are  all  in  reality  very  nearly  akin.  They  were 
(428) 


A  HORRIBLE  RELIGION.  429 

Tartars  or  Scythians,  and  must  have  spoken  the  Tura- 
nian tongues,  as  fragments  of  those  languages  are  yet 
found  mixed  with  other  tongues  ;  in  a  word,  they  are 
MongoHans. 

The  rehgion  of  the  Khoonds— one  of  the  aboriginal 
tribes  —  has  excited  the  saddest  pity  for  years  past. 
They  were,  if  they  are  not  even  at  present,  in  the  habit 
of  kidnapping  children,  and  at  times  adults,  and  after 
fattening  them  like  cattle,  finally  disposing  of  them  for 
sacrifice. 

As  the  mournful  procession  moves  on  to  the  fatal 
spot,  such  invocations  are  sung  as  that  from  which  the 
following  verses  are  extracted  : 

"  Goddess  of  earth,  dread  source  of  ill, 
Thy  just  revenge  o'erwhelms  us  still 

For  rites  unpaid  ; 
But,  oh,  forgive,  our  stores  are  small, 
Our  lessened  means  uncertain  all. 

Denied  thine  aid  ! 
Goddess  that  taught  mankind  to  feel 
Poison  in  plants,  and  death  in  steel — 

A  fearful  lore  ! 
Forgive,  forgive  !  and  ne'er  again 
Shall  we  neglect  thy  shrine  to  stain 

With  human  gore  ! 
Let  plenty  all  our  land  o'erspread  ; 
Make  green  the  ground  with  living  bread  ; 

Our  pastures  fill 
So  close  with  cattle,  side  by  side, 
That  no  bare  spot  may  be  descried 
From  distant  hill." 

Then,  after  asking  in  the  same  manner  for  ])lenty  of 
cattle,  sheep,  pigs,  chiklrcn,  poultry,  and  protection 
from  tigers  and  snakes,  the  hymn  proceeds  : 

"  Oh,  make  it  each  man's  only  care 
Yearly  to  build  a  store-room  fair 
For  goods  god-sent  ! 


430  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

And  wealthy  rites  we'll  duly  pay — • 
Lo  !  one  bought  victim  now  we  slay. 
One  life  present." 

Arrived  at  the  Meria  grove,  a  clump  of  umbrageous 
tall  forest  trees,  the  victim  is  tied  for  a  day  in  a  sitting 
posture  to  a  stake,  while  they  thus  drink,  feast,  and 
commit  the  most  licentious  orgies  in  the  same  manner 
as  they  had  done  for  the  two  previous  days.  About 
noon  of  the  third  day,  the  unfortunate  Meria,  whose 
arms,  if  not  also  his  legs,  have  been  broken  in  several 
places,  as  he  must  neither  suffer  bound  nor  struggle  to 
be  free,  is  inclosed  in  the  cleft  of  the  split  branch  of  a 
tree,  which  holds  him  fast.  By  way  of  sign,  the  priest 
slightly  wounds  him  with  an  axe,  when  the  multitude 
rush  on  the  wretched  victim  and  cut  his  flesh  in  small 
shreds  from  his  bones.  Each  then  returns  home  and 
deposits  the  fragment  he  has  brought  away  in  his  field, 
as  a  votive  offering  to  the  earth-goddess,  supposed  to 
have  the  power  of  making  land  fertile.  After  this,  all 
is  silence  for  three  days.  Then  a  buffalo  is  offered  at 
the  place  of  sacrifice.  Here  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  in 
their  petitions  they  put  cJiildrcn  standing  between  pigs 
and  poultry.  This  tribe — the  Khoonds — fought  to  keep 
up  the  Meria  sacrifices. 

When  speaking  of  Southern  India,  w^e  have  noticed 
how  Vetal,  having  no  images  or  temples,  is  worshiped, 
within  a  circle  of  stones,  colored  red  and  white  above 
in  Konkan,  Canara,  etc.;  that  kind  of  religion  belongs 
to  the  aborigines  of  India  previous  to  Brahminism.  Bits 
of  aboriginal  religion  are  found  yet  imbedded  as  if  it 
w^ere  in  Brahminism.  When  the  Brahmins  entered 
India  and  subdued  the  native  tribes,  and  failed  to  put 
down  a  rite,  or  a  festival,  of  some  conquered  tribe, 
they  adopted  it  into  their  own   religion,  representing 


THE  HINDOO  TRINITY. 


431 


this  as  a  boon  to  a  Pishacha,  or  Daityu,  or  Rakshas,  as 
the  case  might  be. 

The  reHgion  of  the  Brahmins  can  be  classed  with 
that  of  the  Hindoos,  who  strictly  follow  the  Vedas  and 
the  Puranas,  except  that  these  two  latter  have  not 
mixed  with  those  licentious,  lascivious  practices  of  the 
Brahmins.  Their  religious  doctrines  are  contained  in 
the  four  Vedas,  of  which  the  six  Angas  are  comment- 
aries by  the  Brahmins.  Thus  the  Vedas  are  their  Bible. 
The  Hindoo  religion  is  Pantheism,  understanding  by 
that  word,  a  religion  which  inculcates  the  belief  in  One 
existing  in  all  things,  and  all  things  existing  in  One — 
God  in  the  universe,  and  the  universe  in  God.  The 
sins  of  the  parents  are  considered  as  to  be  visited  on 
their  children,  because  the  son  is  the  father  regenerated. 

The  original  Hindoo  conception  of  God,  the  omni- 
present Being,  Eternal,  etc.,  is  called  Brahm,  or  Brimha ; 
Atma  (the  breathing  soul);  he  first  created  the  waters, 
and  impressed  them  with  the  power  of  motion  ;  by  that 
power  was  produced  a  golden  cg^,,  blazing  like  a  thou- 
sand suns,  in  which  was  born  Brahma.  The  Supreme 
Being  is  worshiped  under  three  forms  :  Brahma,  Shiva, 
Vishnu — the  Hindoo  triad.  The  first  is  the  creator; 
the  second,  the  avenger,  or  destroyer;  the  third,  the 
preserver.  These  three  are  exjjressed  by  the  letters  A, 
U,  M,  which  coalesce  and  form  the  mystical  word  CM, 
which  never  escapes  the  lips  of  a  pious  Hindoo,  but  is 
meditated  in  silence.  V>y  others,  this  mystical  word  is 
spelled  OoDi,  and  it  is  said  to  signify  the  Deity,  and  to 
be  composed  of  Sanskrit  roots,  or  letters;  the  first  of 
which  stands  for  Creator ;  tlic  second  {or  J''rrs(rvcr ;  and 
the  third  for  Destroyer.  Vishnu  has  transformed  him- 
self several  times;  the  Hindoos  call  them  i)icaruaiions. 
He  once  transformetl  himself  into  a  fish,  to  recover  the 
four  Vedas  stolen  by  the  giant   Hayagriva,  who  swal- 


432  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

lowed  them  and  concealed  himself  in  the  sea.  Vishnu 
recovered  them  in  the  shape  of  a  fish ;  that  was  the 
first  incarnation.  The  second  incarnation  was  into  a 
tortoise,  sustaining  the  universe,  which  had  been  con- 
vulsed by  the  assaults  of  the  demons,  while  the  gods 
churned  the  sea  with  the  mountain  Mandar,  to  force  it 
to  disgorge  the  sacred  things  and  animals,  together 
with  the  water  of  life,  which  it  had  swallowed.  The 
third,  the  giant  tlirany-aksJina  (the  giant  of  the  earth), 
had  coiled  up  the  earth  like  a  cable,  and  concealed  it  in 
the  Patalas — seven  subterraneous  worlds.  Vishnu, 
transformed  into  a  boar,  rooted  up  the  earth  with  his 
tusks  of  fire.  Vishnu  placed  eight  gods  as  guardians  of 
the  earth  ;  which  eight  are  Lidra,  Deiuandra,  god  of 
the  air,  or  of  the  heavens ;  Aglini,  (fire) !  Padurbati, 
(judge  of  the  infernal  world);  Nirurdi,  (king  of  the 
infernal  world) ;  Varuna,  (water) ;  Maril,  (wind) ;  Cii- 
bcra,  (riches);  and  Eswara,  who  in  the  East  is  Indra ; 
in  the  South,  AgJuii.  There  is  no  need  to  describe  the 
remainder  of  the  incarnations.  The  principal  incarna- 
tions are  ten.  But  sixty-two  incarnations  arc  recorded 
in  the  Hindoo  mythology. 

The  multitude  of  the  Hindoos,  however,  believe  in 
the  existence  of  inferior  deities,  which,  like  the  divini- 
ties of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  are  represented  under 
different  forms,  and  with  symbols  expressive  of  their 
different  qualities  and  attributes ;  all  these  are,  how- 
ever, inferior  to  the  triad,  Brahma,  Shiva,  and  Vishnu. 
All  goddesses  are  always  represented  as  the  subordinate 
power  of  their  respective  lords,  except  Bawaney  (or 
Bhavani),  who,  being  the  mother  of  the  gods,  is  held  in 
high  veneration.  Brahma  is  represented  with  a  crown 
on  his  head,  and  with  four  hands;  in  one  he  holds  a 
scepter,  in  another  the  Vedas,  in  another  a  ring,  or 
circle,  as  an  emblem  of  eternity,  and  the  other  is  empty, 


BRAHMA'S  WIFE. 


43: 


ready  to  assist  and  protect  his  works.  Brahma  is  said 
to  mean,  in  Sanskrit,  tJie  zvisdom  of  God.  Near  his 
image  is  ^.  flamingo,  on  which  he  is  supposed  to  per- 
form his  journeys. 

The  goddess  Seraswaty,  the  wife  of  Brahma,  is  the 
patroness  of  imagination,  invention,  harmony,  and  elo- 
quence, and  is  usually  represented  with  a  musical  in- 
strument in  her  hands.  Learned  mythologists  say  that 
she  is  the  Minerva  of  the  Romans,  and  the  his  of 
Egypt.  There  are  strong  conjectures  that  the  Iswara 
and  hi  of  the  Hindoos,  are  the  Osiris  and  his  of  the 
Egyptians. 

Vishnu  is  worshiped  under  the  form  of  a  man,  hav- 
ing a  circle  of  heads  and  four  hands — meaning  his  all- 
seeing  and  all-providing  power.  A  large  brown  kite 
with  a  white  head,  called  garoora,  on  which  he  is  sup- 
posed to  ride,  is  frequently  to  be  found  immediately  in 
front  of  his  image,  Hary  is  one  of  his  names,  in  his 
preserving  quality. 

In  the  province  of  Bahar,  nearly  opposite  to  the 
town  of  Sidtan-gmigc,  there  is  a  granite  rock,  called  tJie 
rock  of  Jeliangiiecry — a  small  island  in  the  midst  of  the 
Ganges  ;  amongst  a  vast  number  of  images,  there  is 
Hary,  of  a  gigantic  size,  recumbent  upon  a  coiled  ser- 
pent, whose  heads,  which  are  numerous,  are  spread  into 
a  kind  of  canopy  over  the  sleeping  god,  and  from  each 
of  their  mouths  issues  a  forked  tongue,  threatening- 
death  to  any  who  might  attempt  to  disturb  him.  The 
Hindoos  believe  that  at  the  end  of  every  Kalpa  (crea- 
tion), all  things  are  absorbed  in  the  deity,  and  that  '\\\ 
the  interval  of  another  creation,  he  reposes  himself  on 
the  serjicnt  Scsha!''' 

Lechcmy  is  the  wife  of  VisJinu,  and  is  the  goddess  of 


Sesha  means  duration  ;  it  is  also  called  Ananla  (endless). 
19 


434  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

abundance  and  prosperity,  and  is  called  also  Pcdma, 
Camala,  and  Sri,  or  Sris.  Mythologists  consider  her 
the  Ceres  of  the  Hindoos,  In  very  ancient  temples 
near  Gaya,  images  of  Lechemy  are  represented  with 
full  breasts,  and  a  cord  twisted  under  her  arm,  like  a 
horn  of  plenty,  which  looks  very  much  like  the  old 
Grecian  and  Roman  figures  of  Ceres. 

Although  Shiva  has  a  variety  of  names,  yet  the  most 
common  is  that  of  Shiva  and  Maha-Dcva.  He  is  repre- 
sented under  different  human  forms.  An  ox  in  a  sup- 
pliant posture,  faces  his  image.  It  is  considered  that 
Shiva  selected  this  animal  for  his  conveyance.  In  his 
destroying  quality,  he  appears  as  a  fierce"  man,  with  a 
snake  twined  round  his  neck ;  as  the  god  of  good  and 
evil  fortune,  he  is  represented  with  a  crescent  in  front 
of  his  crown.  The  Brahminical  caves  at  Elephanta 
exemplify  their  mythology. 

The  wife  of  Shiva  is  the  goddess  called  Parvati ;  but 
she  has  also  other  names,  namely,  Diirga,  Bhavani, 
Gowry,  and  also  Kali.  She  is  always  personified  as  the 
agent  of  destruction.  As  vioiintain-borii  goddess,  or 
Parvati,  she  has  many  properties  of  the  Olympian 
Juno ;  and  both  at  Mount  Cailasa  and  at  the  banquets 
of  the  deities,  she  is  found  uniformly  the  companion  of 
her  husband.  She  is  usually  attended  by  her  son,  Car- 
ticeya,  who  rides  on  a  peacock,  and  in  some  pictures  his 
robe  is  spangled  with  eyes.  In  some  temples  of  Parvati, 
a  peacock  without  a  rider  stands  by  her  image.  Carti- 
ceya  is  represented  to  have  six  faces  and  numerous  eyes, 
may  be  the  Argus  employed  b\-  Juno  to  be  her  princi- 
pal warder ;  but  as  Carticcya  is  a  second-class  god — ■ 
commander  of  celestial  armies — he  seems  rather  to  be 
the  Orns  of  Egypt  and  the  Mars  of  Rome.  Parvati 
slew  demons  and  giants  with  her  own  hands,  and  pro- 
tects her  worshipers. 


THE  SOUR  AS. 


435 


Varoona  is  the  god  of  the  seas  and  waters,  and  is  gen- 
erally represented  as  riding  on  a  crocodile.  Vajoo  is 
the  god  of  the  winds,  and  rides  on  an  antelope,  with  a 
sabre  in  his  right  hand.  Vasooda  is  the  goddess  of  the 
earth.  Nature  is  represented  as  a  beautiful  }-oung 
woman,  named  Prakrity. 

The  sun  is  generally  called  Sour,  oxSurya,  hence  the 
sect  of  the  Souras,  who  worship  the  sun.  In  a  temple 
at  Benares  there  is  a  piece  of  sculpture  representing  the 
sun  sitting  in  a  car  drawn  by  a  horse  with  twelve  heads, 
preceded  by  A  run  (the  dawn).  The  horse  with  twelve 
heads  represents  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac.  He  is 
supposed  to  have  descended  frequently  from  his  car  in 
human  shape,  and  left  a  race  on  earth  called  the  solar 
race.  The  great  exploits  achieved  by  one  of  that  race, 
are  celebrated  in  the  epic  poem  of  the  Ramayan,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  epic  poem,  the  Mahabharat,  cele- 
brates a  hero,  or  rather  a  family  of  heroes  of  the  lunar 
race — the  legend  of  the  fight  between  the  Kooroos  and 
Pandoos,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  founded  by 
Boodha,  who  came  to  India  from  Scythia.  This  Boodha 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  Buddha,  the  founder  or 
reformer  of  the  Buddhist  religion  ;  the  two  words  differ 
both  in  spelling  and  meaning — Boodha  signifies  the 
planet  Mercury,  and  Buddha,  "  enlightened,"  or  "  the  en- 
lightened one."  Still  it  has  been  conjectured  that  the 
lunar  race  had  a  religion  not  very  different  from  what 
afterward  became  Buddhism,  while  the  solar  race  ad- 
hered to  the  early  Brahmanic  religious  tenets. 

Cha)idara — the  Moon — is  represented  sitting  in  a  car 
drawn  by  antelopes,  and  holding  a  rabbit  in  his  right 
hand. 

Darham  Rajah  seems  to  hold  the  same  offices  with  the 
Hindoos  that  Pluto  and  Mitios  held  with  the  Greeks,  but 
he  has  no  power  over  the  souls  of  hol\',  pious,  and  good 


435  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

men,  who  spent  their  lives  in  piety  and  benevolence, 
unbiased  by  the  hope  of  reward,  or  the  dread  of  pun- 
ishment. These  are  carried  by  genii  to  the  upper  re- 
gions of  happiness,  and  are  afterward  admitted  to 
Moukt,  the  supreme  bliss,  or  absorption  in  the  universal 
spirit,  though  not  such  as  to  destroy  consciousness  in 
the  divine  essence. 

Krishoia  (or  Krislioi),  called  also  MoJnai  (the  beloved); 
MccnoJicr  (heart-catcher) ;  Kama-diva  (god  of  love,  god 
of  desire),  etc.  He  is  supposed  to  be  the  god  Vishnu 
in  one  of  his  incarnations,  and  to  have  come  amongst 
mankind  as  the  son  of  Divaci  by  Vasudeva,  and  to  have 
tended  the  flocks  of  the  shepherd  Ananda  on  the  plains 
of  Alatra,  round  Agra,  a  country  famous  for  the  beauty 
of  its  women,  many  of  whom  arc  supposed  to  have 
shared  his  embraces.  He  is  represented  as  a  beautiful 
young  man,  sometimes  as  playing  on  a  flute.  To  this 
day  he  is  the  favorite  divinity  of  all  the  Hindoo 
women.  According  to  the  Hindoo  mythology,  AVz- 
shcna  was  the  son  of  Maya  (the  general  attracting 
power),  was  married  to  Rctty  (affection) ;  his  bosom 
friend  was  Vassant  (the  spring).  Represented  as  a  beau- 
tiful youth,  conversing  sometimes  with  his  mother,  some- 
times with  his  consort  in  the  midst  of  gardens  and  tem- 
ples ;  sometimes  riding  by  moonlight  on  a  parrot,  and 
attended  by  dancing-girls,  the  foremost  of  whom  bears 
his  colors,  which  are  a  fish  on  a  red  gnnuKl  ;  and  spend- 
ing the  night  with  music  and  dancing;  his  bow  was  of 
sugar-cane,  or  of  flowers,  the  string  of  bees,  and  his  five 
arrows  are  each  pointed  with  an  Indian  blossom  of  a 
healing  quality.  Pictures  have  been  found  in  Hindo- 
stan  representing  Kama-diva  riding  on  an  elephant, 
whose  body  was  composed  of  the  figures  of  seven 
young  women  entwined  in  so  whimsical  and  ingenious 
a  manner  as  to  exhibit  the  shape  of  that  animal. 


SEXUALITY  IN  WORSHIP.  437 

The  Greek  nation  has  also  represented  the  god  Cupid 
riding  on  and  guiding  a  lion,  in  order  to  show  his  power 
over  the  strongest  animal  of  creation,  and  his  ability  to 
drive  it ;  the  Hindoos  place  Kama  on  an  elephant,  the 
strongest  of  the  brute  creation,  and  perhaps  the  most 
difficult  to  be  tamed,  but  afterward  the  most  docile. 
l-)oth  nations  have  painted  that  passion  by  representing 
the  infant  god  governing  the  fiercest  and  strongest  ani- 
mals. Has  one  nation  derived  the  idea  from  the  other? 
It  may  have  been  original  with  both  ;  the  power  of  love 
is  everywhere  felt ;  both  were  polished  nations,  and  en- 
dowed with  lixely  and  poetical  imaginations,  and  it  may 
naturally  have  occurred  to  both  to  paint  the  influence 
of  the  passion  of  love  in  the  manner  referred  to  above. 

Among  a  people  of  such  exuberant  fancy  as  the  Hin- 
doos, it  is  natural  that  everything  should  receive  form 
and  life.  But  it  is  very  remarkable  to  what  a  degree 
their  works  of  imagination  are  pervaded  by  the  idea  of 
sexuality.  Sir  William  Jones  remarks  that  "  it  never 
seems  to  have  entered  into  the  heads  of  the  Hindoo 
legislators  or  people,  that  anything  natural  could  be 
offensively  obscene — a  singularity  which  pervades  all 
their  writings  and  conversations,  but  it  is  no  proof  of 
the  depravity  of  their  morals."  Hence  tlio  worsliip  of 
the  Lingani  by  the  Shivanites,  of  the  Yoiii  b\'  the 
Vishnuites. 

The  Lingani  is  a  deity  similar  to  tlie  P/ial/ns  of  the 
Egyptians,  consecrated  to  Osiris,  Dionx'sius,  and  Bac- 
chus ;  and  at  the  festivals  of  Osiris,  it  was  carried  b\-  the 
women  of  ICgypt,  as  the  Lingam  is  now  borne  by  those 
of  Hindostan,  and  is  always  ke])t  in  the  interior  and  most 
sacred  part  of  the  temples  of  Sliiva.  Sometimes  it  rep- 
resents both  the  male  and  female  parts  of  gt.-neration  to- 
gether, and  then  sometimes  it  is  named  )'(>/n,  but  often- 
times only  the  former.     A  lamp  is  kept  constantly  burn- 


438  -4    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

ing  before  it.  In  several  temples  I  was  not  permitted 
to  enter  that  sacred  part  to  see  the  Lingam  or  the  Yoni, 
but  in  all  instances  I  could  see  the  lamp  burning  before 
it.  In  many  temples  there  were  several  of  these  idols, 
and  of  different  sizes,  some  very  small,  others  of  a  gi- 
gantic dimension,  and  I  always  found  that  there  were 
flowers  scattered  on  them.  When  the  Brahmins  per- 
form their  religious  ceremonies  and  make  their  offer- 
ings, which  generally  consist  of  flowers,  more  lamps  are 
lighted.  Some  say  that  on  such  occasions  seven  lamps 
are  lighted,  resembling  exactly  the  caiidclabrnvis  of  the 
Jews,  but  I  observed  it  only  in  one  or  two  instances. 

As  the  Hindoos  depend  on  their  children  to  perform 
those  ceremonies  to  their  manes,  which  they  believe  to 
tend  to  mitigate  punishment  in  a  future  state,  they 
consider  the  being  deprived  of  them  as  a  se\ere  misfor- 
tune, and  the  sign  of  an  offended  God.  ^^larricd  women 
wear  a  small  gold  Lingam,  tied  round  the  neck  or  arm  ; 
worship  is  paid  to  Lingam  to  obtain  fecundit\^  The 
following  is  one  of  the  legends  that  are  recorded  to  ac- 
count for  such  extraordinary  adoration,  or  rather,  abom- 
ination : 

"  Certain  devotees,  in  a  remote  time,  had  acquired 
great  renown  and  respect  ;  but  the  purit\'  of  the  heart 
was  wanting;  nor  did  their  motives  and  secret  thoughts 
correspond  with  their  professions  and  exterior  conduct. 
They  affected  poverty,  but  were  attached  to  the  things 
of  this  life  ;  and  the  princes  and  nobles  were  constantly 
sending  them  offerings.  They  seemed  to  sequester 
themselves  from  the  world  ;  they  lived  retired  from 
the  town  ;  but  their  dwellings  were  commodious,  and 
their  women  numerous  and  handsome.  But  nothing 
can  be  hid  from  the  gods,  and  Shiva  resolved  to  expose 
them  to  shame.  He  desired  the  goddess  Prakrity  (nat- 
ure) to  accompany  him  ;  and  he  assumed  the  appear- 


A  HIXDOO  LEGEXD.  ^^q 

ance  of  a  Pandarani''  of  a  graceful  form.  Prakrity  ap- 
peared as  herself,  a  damsel  of  matchless  beauty.  She 
went  where  the  devotees  were  assembled  with  their  dis- 
ciples, waiting  the  rising  sun  to  perform  their  ablutions 
and  religious  ceremonies.  The  Hindoos  never  bathe, 
nor  perform  their  ablutions,  whilst  the  sun  is  below  the 
horizon. 

"  As  she  advanced,  the  refreshing  breeze  moving  her 
flowing  robe,  showed  the  exquisite  shape,  which  it 
seemed  intended  to  conceal.  With  eyes  cast  down, 
though  sometimes  opening  with  a  timid,  but  a  tender 
look,  she  ap[)roached  them,  and  with  a  low  enchanting 
voice  desired  to  be  admitted  to  the  sacrifice.  The 
devotees  gazed  on  her  with  astonishment.  The  sun 
appeared,  but  the  purifications  were  forgotten  ;  the 
things  for  the  Pooja  (sacrifice)  lay  neglected  ;  nor  was 
any  worship  thought  of  but  to  her.  Quitting  the  grav- 
ity of  their  manners,  they  gathered  round  her,  as  flies 
round  the  lamp  at  night,  attracted  by  its  splendor,  but 
consumed  by  its  flame.  They  asked  from  whence  she 
came  ;  whither  she  was  going  ?  '  Be  not  offended  with 
us  for  our  approaching  thee  ;  forgive  us  for  our  impor- 
tunities. But  thou  art  incapable  of  anger,  thou  who 
art  made  to  convey  bliss  ;  to  thee,  who  ma\-cst  kill  by 
indifference,  indignation  and  resentment  are  unknown. 
But  whoever  thou  mayest  be,  whatever  moliNC  or  acci- 
dent may  have  brought  thee  amongst  us,  admit  us  into 
the  number  of  thy  slaves  ;  let  us  at  least  ha\e  the  com- 
fort to  behold  thee.'  Here  the  words  faltered  on  the 
lips  ;  the  soid  seemed  read}'  to  take  its  flight  ;  the  vow 
was  forgotten,  and  the  pcjlicy  of  \ears  was  destroyetl. 

*  The  Pandanims,  on  tlic  coast  of  Coromandel,  are  followers  ol 
Shiva  ;  they  rub  their  faces  and  bodies  with  the  ashes  of  burnt  cow- 
dunji,  and  go  about  the  towns  and  villages  singing  the  praises  of  theii 
god. 


440  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

*'  Whilst  the  devotees  were  lost  in  their  passions, 
and  absent  from  their  homes,  Shiva  entered  their  vil- 
lage with  a  musical  instrument  in  his  hand,  playing  and 
singing  like  one  of  those  who  solicit  charity.  At  the 
sound  of  his  voice  the  women  quitted  their  occupations; 
they  ran  to  see  from  whom  the  music  came.  He  was 
beautiful  as  Krishnu  on  the  plains  of  Matra.  Some 
dropped  their  jewels  without  turning  to  look  for  them  ; 
others  let  fall  their  garments  without  being  aware  of 
the  fact.  All  pressed  forward  with  their  offerings  ;  all 
wished  to  speak;  all  wished  to  be  taken  notice  of; 
and  bringing  flowers,  and  scattering  them  before  him, 
said  :  '  Askest  thou  alms  !  thou,  who  art  made  to  gov- 
ern hearts  !  Thou,  whose  countenance  is  fresh  as  the 
morning ;  whose  voice  is  the  voice  of  pleasure  ;  and 
thy  breath  like  that  of  Vassant  [the  spring]  in  the  open- 
ing rose  !  Stay  with  us,  and  we  will  serve  thee  ;  nor 
will  we  trouble  thy  repose,  but  only  to  be  jealous  how 
to  please  thee.' 

"The  Pandaram  continued  to  pla\'  and  sing  the  loves 
oi  Kama  (the  god  of  love),  of  Krishnu,  and  the  Gopia  ;* 
and  smiling  the  gentle  smiles  of  fond  desire  he  led 
them  to  a  neighborhig  grove  that  was  consecrated  to 
pleasure  and  retirement.  The  sun  began  to  gild  the 
western  mountains,  nor  were  they  offended  at  the  retir- 
ing day. 

"  But  the  desire  of  repose  succeeds  the  waste  of 
pleasure.  Sleep  closed  the  eyes  and  lulled  the  senses. 
In  the  morning  the  Pandaram  was  gone.  When  they 
awoke  they  looked  round  with  astonishment,  and  again 
cast  their  eyes  upon  the  ground.     Some  directed  their 

*  The  Gopia  of  the  Hindoos  resembles  the  nine  muses  of  the 
Greeks  ;  the  Gopias  likewise  are  nine.  The  Krishnu  of  the  Ilindoos 
resembles  the  Apollo  of  the  Greeks. 


A  HINDOO  LEGEND. 


441 


looks  to  those  who  had  formerly  been  remarked  for  their 
scrupulous  manners ;  but  their  faces  were  covered  with 
their  veils.  After  sitting  a  while  in  silence  they  arose  and 
went  back  to  their  houses  with  slow  and  troubled  steps. 
The  devotees  returned  about  the  same  time  from  their 
wanderings  after  Prakrity.  The  days  that  followed 
were  days  of  embarrassment  and  shame.  If  the  women 
had  failed  in  their  modesty,  the  devotees  had  broken 
their  vows.  They  were  vexed  at  their  weakness  ;  they 
were  sorry  for  what  they  had  done ;  yet  the  tender  sigh 
sometimes  broke  forth,  and  the  eye  often  turned  to 
where  the  men  first  saw  the  maid,  the  women  the  Pan- 
daram. 

"  People  began  to  perceive  that  what  the  devotees 
now  foretold  came  not  to  pass.  Their  disciples,  in  con- 
sequence, neglected  to  attend  them  ;  and  the  offerings 
from  the  princes  and  nobles  became  less  frequent  than 
before.  They  then  performed  various  penances  ;  they 
sought  for  secret  places  among  the  woods,  unfrequented 
by  man,  and  having  at  last  shut  their  eyes  from  the  things 
of  this  world,  and  retired  within  themselves  in  deep  medi- 
tation, they  discovered  that  Shiva  was  the  author  of  their 
misfortunes.  Their  understanding  being  imperfect,  in- 
stead of  humbling  themselves,  bowing  the  head,  repent- 
ing of  their  hypocrisy,  they  were  inflamed  with  anger  and 
sought  for  vengeance.  They  performed  new  sacrifices 
and  incantations,  which  ^\•ere  onh'  allowed  to  have  a 
certain  effect  in  the  end,  to  show  the  folk-  of  man  in 
not  submitting  to  the  will  of  heaven.  Their  incanta- 
tions produced  a  tiger,  whose  mouth  \\'as  like  a  cavern, 
and  his  \-oice  like  thunder  among  m<')untains.  They 
sent  him  against  .Shi\-a,  \\\\o,  with  Prakrity,  Asas  amus- 
ing himself  in  the  vale.  lie  smiled  at  their  weakness  ; 
and,  killing  the  tiger  at  (jiie  blow  with  his  club,  he  cov- 
ered himself  with  his  skin.  Seeing  themselves  frustrated 
19* 


442 


A    TOrR  AV  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


in  this  attempt,  the  devotees  had  recourse  to  another, 
and  sent  serpents  against  him  of  the  most  deadly  kind. 
But  on  approaching  him  they  became  harmless,  and  he 
twisted  them  around  his  neck.  They  sent  their  curses 
and  imprecations  against  him,  but  they  all  recoiled 
upon  themselves.  Not  yet  disheartened  by  these  disap- 
pointments, they  collected  all  their  prayers,  their  pen- 
ances, their  charities,  and  other  good  works,  the  most 
acceptable  of  all  sacrifices,  and  demanding  in  return 
only  vengeance  against  Shiva,  they  sent  a  consuming 
fire  to  destroy  him.  Shiva,  incensed  at  this  attempt, 
turned  the  fire  with  indignation  against  the  human  race  ; 
and  mankind  would  soon  ha\'c  been  destroyed  had  not 
\^ishnu,  alarmed  at  the  danger,  implored  him  to  suspend 
his  wrath.  At  his  entreaties  Shixa  relented  ;  but  it  was 
ordained  that  those  parts  should  be  worshiped  which 
the  false  devotees  had  im|)iousl\'  attempted  to  destroy." 

The  priests  of  Lingam  go  naked,  cind  are  sworn  to 
observe  inviolable  chastit)-. 

The  MandiraJii  is  a  m\"ster)'  or  prayer  which  gi\-es 
a  power  only  to  a  few  souls  to  quit  their  bodies  and 
mount  into  the  sky,  \'isit  distant  cnnitrics,  and  again 
return  and  resume  their  souls.  It  is  related  that  a  cer- 
tain powerful  prince,  longing  to  enjoy  this  supernatural 
pri\"ilege,  went  dail\-,  attended  onl\-  b\'  a  confidential 
page,  to  a  temple  situated  in  a  retired  and  loneh"  place, 
where  he  offered  fer\'ent  prayers  to  the  goddess  to  whom 
the  temple  was  dedicated,  to  instruct  him  in  the  Man- 
diraiii.  ^Mortals  do  not  know  what  they  ask,  and  the 
gods  often  refuse  to  comply  Avith  their  desires  through 
goodness  toward  them.  The  goddess,  however,  at  last 
yielded  to  his  solicitations,  and  the  mystery  was  revealed. 
The  slave  had  been  ordered  to  remain  at  a  distance  ; 
but  his  curiosity  being  excited  by  the  extreme  caution 
that  was  observed,  he  approached  gently  to  the  door  of 


A  FALSE  PAGE.  ^3 

the  sanctuary  and  learned  the  secret  while  the  high- 
priest  was  instructing  his  master  how  the  IMandiram  was 
to  be  performed.  He  retired  softly  to  his  station.  The 
prince  came  out  with  the  appearance  of  uncommon  joy. 
He  frequently  afterward  retired  with  the  favorite  page 
to  the  most  unfrequented  parts  of  a  neighboring  forest, 
and  after  recommending  to  him  to  sit  and  watch  over 
his  body,  he  went  and  repeated  the  Mandiram  in  pri- 
vate, when  his  soul  mounted  into  the  skies.  He  was 
so  delighted  with  this  new  amusement  that  he  forgot 
his  duty  as  a  ruler;  he  was  tired  of  affairs  of  state;  he 
lost  the  relish  of  his  former  pleasures,  even  his  beauti- 
ful princess  was  neglected  ;  and  like  an  youthful  loxer 
with  his  mistress,  he  looked  impatiently  for  the  hour 
when  he  might  quit  the  grandeur  of  his  court  for  the 
sake  of  soaring  for  a  moment  above  the  sphere  of  men. 
One  day  when  the  monarch  was  delighted  in  his  aerial 
journey  he  forgot  to  come  back  at  the  appointed  time. 
The  page  grew  weary  with  attending,  and  wished  to  re- 
turn to  the  court.  He  often  locjked  at  the  body,  and 
again  into  the  air.  He  thought  of  a  variety  of  things 
to  divert  the  tedious  hour.  The  secret  he  had  learned 
at  the  door  of  the  sanctuary  came  into  his  mind.  He 
who  fails  in  his  duty  once  generally  yields  to  fresh 
temptations.  Curiosity,  that  led  him  from  his  station 
before  the  temple,  now  prompted  him.  to  repeat  the. 
Mandiraiii.  The  conflict  w^is  but  short.  The  m}'stery 
was  perfcjrmed.  The  soul  instant!}'  quitted  the  body  of 
the  slave.  The  more  graceful  form  of  the  Ijody  of  his 
master  lay  before  it.  The  ch;ingc  was  ])referred.  The 
slave  now  became  the  sovereign,  and  not  choosing  to  ha\'e 
one  who  had  been  his  master  for  an  attendant,  he  cut  off 
the  head  (jf  his  former  body,  as  being  now  but  a  hal)il;ilion 
for  which  he  had  no  longer  any  use.  The  soul  of  the 
prince  returned  t(Jo  late.      He  saw  the  headless  and  life- 


444  ^    TOUR  ir/  BOTH  HEMISriJERES. 

less  corpse  of  his  favorite.  He  guessed  what  had  come  to 
pass.  And  after  floating  for  some  time  over  the  forest, 
and  uttering  those  unhappy  sounds  that  are  sometimes 
to  be  heard  in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  he  was  com- 
manded to  enter  into  the  body  of  a  parrot.  He  flew 
instantly  to  his  palace,  where,  instead  of  commanding, 
he  was  caught,  and,  for  the  beauty  of  his  plumage,  pre- 
sented to  the  princess  as  not  unworthy  of  her  regard. 
He  was  placed  in  her  apartments ;  he  saw  his  unfaith- 
ful servant  wearing  his  crown  ;  he  heard  his  late  actions 
examined,  his  faults  criticised,  his  foibles  turned  into 
ridicule ;  and  when,  in  the  bitterness  of  impotent  re- 
venge, he  repeated  all  the  words  of  invective  he  had 
learned,  they  only  served  to  amuse  the  slaves.  No  one 
knew  the  secret  until  many  ages  afterward,  when  it 
was  revealed  by  a  holy  hermit. '■'  These  will  be  sufficient 
to  give  some  idea  of  the  Hindoo  mythology,  and  their 
great  prolific  imagination,  poems,  fables,  etc. 

All  the  priests  are  Brahmins,  but  all  the  Brahmins 
are  not  priests.  At  the  hour  of  public  worship,  the 
people  are  admitted  to  a  peristyle,  or  vestibule,  the 
roof  of  which,  in  the  large  temples,  is  supported  by 
several  rows  of  pillars.  They  begin  their  devotions  by 
performing  their  ablutions  at  the  tank,  which  is  either 
to  be  found  in  front  of  the  building  or  in  the  great 
temple  in  the  center  of  the  first  court,  leaving  their 
slippers  or  sandals  on  the  border  of  the  tank.  The 
idol  is  also  washed  with  M'atcr,  by  pouring  it  first  on 
the  head.  All  things  necessary  for  the  ceremony  arc 
prepared  on  a  mat,  as  plates,  cups,  etc.,  which  generally 
are  of  gold  or  silver.     The  priest  occasionally  rings  the 


*This  story  is  also  found  mentioned  by  Fr.  Bouchet  in  his  letter  to 
Mr.  Huet,  Bishop  of  Avranches.  See  Lcttres  edif.  et  tome  XII.,  p. 
170.     Edit,  de  Paris,  1781. 


FEAST  OF  THE  DEWUL.  445 

bell  and  blows  the  shell  ;  he  marks*  the  idol  on  the 
forehead,  by  dipping  his  right  thumb  into  some  sub- 
stance that  has  been  mixed  with  water.  If  the  mark 
be  a  perpendicular  one,  he  begins  at  the  top  of  the 
nose  and  advances  upwards.  But  the  color,  size,  and 
shape  depends  on  the  tribe  and  sect  of  the  worshipers ; 
some  are  marked  with  vermilion,  others  with  turmeric, 
some  with  the  dust  of  the  whitest  species  of  sandal- 
wood, etc.  A  Brahmin  generally  marks  all  the  persons 
present  in  the  same  manner.  The  articles  of  food  are 
divided  amongst  them,  and  the  idol  is  then  carefully 
wrapped  up,  and  with  the  throne  and  other  things  used 
in  the  ceremony,  are  kept  in  a  secure  place  until  an- 
other popja  (ceremony)  be  performed  ;  and  while  the 
Brahmins  pray  before  the  images,  and  perform  their 
religious  ceremonies,  the  dancing-women  dance  in  the 
court,  or  under  the  portico,  singing  the  praises  of  the 
god  to  the  sound  of  various  musical  instruments. 

The  inauguration  of  a  temple  is  performed  with  grand 
and  pompous  ceremony  and  great  expense.  I^y  their 
astrology  the  Brahmins  must  find  a  nt  day  for  that  solem- 
nity ;  but  they  often  are  obliged  to  wait  for  many  months 
till  the  fit  day  is  discovered.  The  day  is  afterward 
annually  celebrated,  and  it  is  called  the  feast  of  the 
Dewnl.  Every  temple  is  dedicated  to  some  particular 
deity,  and  each  has  its  annual  feast,  beginning  with  the 
day  on  which  the  inauguration  was  i)erformcd.  It  lasts 
ten  days.  To  temples  that  are  held  in  particular  vener- 
ation, pil<.'Tims  resort  on  that  occasion  from  almost 
every  part  cjf  Ilindostan,  and  all  come  with  offerings, 
which  render  the  revenues  of  some  of  the  temples  very 
considerable. 

The   Biahmins  never   offer  bloody  sacrifices,  except 

*  This  mark  is  named  Tiluk. 


446  --^    TOUR  IX  BOTH  HEMI SPHERES. 

the  sacrifice  of  the  kid  to  Kali  (the  wife  of  Shiva),  and 
this  sacrifice  is  called  Ekiain  ;■  and  they,  although  for- 
bidden to  taste  meat,  are  obliged  by  the  law  to  partake 
of  this  animal  that  has  been  sacrificed. 

These  observations  are  sufficient  to  give  an  idea  of 
the  religion  of  the  Brahmins.  I  must,  however,  men- 
tion that  St.  Francis  Xavier  said  that  a  Ikahmin  on  the 
coast  of  Malabar  confided  to  him  that  one  of  the  mys- 
teries or  secrets  of  the  Hindoo  doctrine  consisted  in 
believing  that  there  was  only  one  God,  Creator  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  and  that  only  that  God  was  wor 
thy  of  adoration. "'•■  Mr.  Ziegenbalg,  sent  by  the  King 
of  Denmark,  having  asked  in  writing  from  different 
Brahmins  the  reason  of  their  not  offering  worship  to  tlie 
Supreme  Being,  they  uniformly  replied  that  God  was 
a  Being  without  shape,  incomprehensible,  of  whom  no 
precise  idea  could  be  formed,  and  that  the  adoration 
before  idols,  being  ordained  by  their  religion,  God 
would  receive  and  consider  that  as  adoration  offered  to 
Himself. 

In  other  chapters  T  have  said  sufficiently  of  the 
Buddhist  religion.  The  Kanheri  excavations  are  an 
illustration  of  the  Buddhist  faith.  I  only  add  con- 
cerning these  exca\'ations,  that  the  Jl/uiras  are  their 
monasteries,  designated  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
mendicant  monks,  dwelling  together  as  cenobites  ;  the 
individual  cells  of  the  monks  are  denominated  Bhik- 
shu-grihas.  The  detached  lljLiksJiu-griJtas  hermitages 
were  intended  for  monks  who  lived  not  as  cenobites, 
but  hermits.  The  halls  were  intended  for  public  in- 
struction or  consultation  of  the  monks,  whose  common 
audiences  were  probably  addressed  S2ib  chiro  caio,  or 
in  temporary  tabernacles,  on  the  occasion  of  their  great 


*  Lib.  I.,  Epistola  5. 


THE  ktAxheri  exca  va  tions. 


447 


festivals,  or  at  their  own  residence,  when  the  monks 
wandered  abroad.  The  DharDiaslialas  (charitable 
lodging-houses)  were  intended  for  the  temporary  ac- 
commodation of  the  pilgrims  and  other  parties  visiting 
the  monks  on  festivals  or  at  other  seasons.  The  Anna- 
satras  (food  dispensaries)  were  excavations  or  apart- 
ments devoted  to  the  issue  of  food  to  pilgrims  and 
travelers.  Hospices  of  this  character  are  found  in  all 
parts  of  India. 


CAVE   TEMI'LE   AT    KARLI. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

INDIA   IX   GENERAL— MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS — ETHNOLOGICAL 

siMii.ARnv  wrni  the  north  American  Indians. 

Although  the  Ouccn  of  England  is  in  reality  the 
iMnpress  of  India,  or  has  at  least  the  title,  this  is  cer- 
tain, that  some  native  States  merely  acknowledge  the 
supremacy  of  England.  The  number  of  the  native 
States,  including  the  smaller  feudaries,  exceed  460. 
Some  States  only  undertake  to  follow  the  advice  of  the 
English  Government,  and  to  govern  their  subjects  with 
jnstice  ;  others  pay  tribute,  or  provide  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  contingent.  Some  have  power  of  life  and 
death  ;  others  must  refer  all  grave  cases  to  luiglish 
judges;  but  every  State  acknowledges  the  supremacy 
of  the  British  Government.  Nearly  all  have,  since  the 
mutinies,  received  guarantees  that  their  chiefs  will  be 
allowed  to  adopt  successors  on  failure  of  heirs;  and 
their  continued  existence  has  been  thus  secured.  The 
native  princes  are  entitled  to  salutes  of  guns,  accord- 
ing to  their  standing.  They  can  keep  armies,  receive 
revenues,  etc.  In  density,  the  population  \'aries  from 
465  per  square  mile  in  Oudh,  to  27  in  Burmah.  Queen 
Victoria,  Defender  of  Faitli  at  liome,  and  head  of  the 
English  Church,  is  Defender  of  Idolatry  in  India!  She 
is  now  repairing  and  restoring  the  Pagan  tcmj^les  in  that 
country.  The  different  States  in  India  differ  in  religion 
and  language  as  much  as  the  States  in  I^urope.  'J'he 
Indi  language  is  spoken  by  forty  millions;  the  Hindu- 
stani, by  thirty  millions ;  the  Bengali,  by  thirty  mil- 
(448) 


CASl'E  D/STIiVCTICWS.  44^ 

lions;  Tclugu,  by  eight  millions;  Tamil,  by  sixteen  mil- 
lions ;  Canarese,  by  five  millions;  Marathi,  by  ten  mil- 
lions ;  and  Persian,  by  educated  Mohammedans.  Urdu, 
the  official  or  court  language,  is  a  dialect  of  Hindustani, 
cultivated  by  Mohammedans.  The  Sanskrit,  the  original 
language  of  the  country,  is  so  ancient  that  neither 
history  nor  tradition  makes  mention  of  it  as  a  spoken 
language.  The  oldest  languages  derived  from  it  are 
the  Pracrit,  the  ]?ali,  and  the  Zend,  which  are  the  sacred 
languages  of  different  sects.  The  modern  dialects  liave 
nine-tenths  of  the  words  in  common,  but  except  the 
Hindustani,  which  is  spoken  everywhere,  and  the 
Gujerattee,  which  is  the  general  language  of  the  mar- 
kets, they  are  all  local. 

In  general,  India  is  neither  a  beautiful  nor  so  rich  a 
country  as  many  Europeans  imagine.  It  consists  of 
extensive  plains,  and  hot,  monotonous  jungles,  fertilized 
by  numerous  rivers,  and  interspersed  with  a  few  ranges 
of  hills  and  occasional  bursts  of  fine  scenery.  Never- 
theless, the  Himala\-as,  West  Ghauts,  and  Xilgiri  Hills, 
etc.,  the  Cataract  of  Gokak,  Gairsoppa,  the  Cave  Tem- 
ples, Cyclopean  Tombs,  Pagodas  of  Southern  India, 
the  Taj  ^Vlahal,  and  the  magnificent  ruins  scattered  all 
over  the  Empire,  render  India  interesting  to  travelers. 
I  must,  however,  observe,  that  although  the  rail\v;iys 
have  facilitated  the  manner  of  traveling,  yet  the  ro- 
mance of  passing  through  their  viUagcs,  of  observing 
their  manners,  etc.,  is  for  the  most  part  lost. 

The  distinction  of  caste  is  of  a  great  disadvantage  to 
the  civilization  of  the  countr)',  and  renders  a  portion  of 
the  people  essentially  and  perpetualh'  separated  from 
one  another,  so  that  no  transition  from  one  caste  to 
another  is  ])ossible  ;  no  connection  between  them  Ijy 
marriage,  or  in  any  other  way,  is  permitted,  and  no  indi- 
vidual of  one  class  can  assume  the  habits  or  engage  in  the 


450 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


occupations  of  another.  The  distinction  is  complete,  in 
every  sense,  hereditary  and  personal ;  all  the  privileges 
or  disabilities  are  inherited  ;  no  one  is  permitted  to  be- 
come what  he  is  destined  to  be  by  nature,  but  he  is 
obliged  to  become  what  his  birth  permits,  or  to  remain 
what  it  condemns  him  to  be.  The  slightest  transgres- 
sion of  these  laws  is  punished  with  loss  of  caste,  and 
sometimes,  in  particular  cases,  with  death.  Even  the 
difference  in  food  is  precisely  marked  out. 

This  prejudice  is  carried  so  far,  that  if  a  person,  or  a 
family,  preparing  food  on  the  side  of  the  road  or  of  a 
street,  as  is  a  custom  in  India,  and  it  happens  that  some 
European  passing  by  casts  his  shadow  on  the  food,  or 
on  the  pot  where  the  food  is  cooking,  the  Hindoos  do 
not  dare  eat,  nor  even  taste  it,  but  throw  it  away,  be- 
cause they  consider  it  defiled  and  contaminated  by  the 
shadow  of  the  worst  of  the  castes.  Conversing  with 
some  railroad  agents,  I  was  told  that  this  distinction  of 
caste  caused  great  trouble  and  vexation  when  the  rail- 
roads were  first  opened.  Hindoos  of  a  superior  caste 
would  not  occupy  a  wagon  in  which  some  individual  of 
an  inferior  caste  had  been  traveling.  The  railway  officers 
were  obliged  to  cleanse  such  wagon  by  a  performance 
of  a  special  ceremony  of  purification.  They  remarked 
also,  that  railroads,  more  than  anything  else,  contribute 
to  bring  castes  in  contact  with  one  another,  and  that 
now  superior  castes  are  not  so  conscientious  about  en- 
tering a  car  where  persons  of  an  inferior  caste,  or  even 
Europeans,  are  sitting. 

There  is  a  tribe  or  race  of  people,  called  in  the  Sans- 
krit, Chandalas ;  and  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel,  Fa- 
rias;  who  are  employed  in  the  meanest  offices,  and 
have  no  restrictions  with  regard  to  diet.  Their  number, 
compared  with  that  of  any  other  caste  is  inconsiderable, 
and  seems  evidently  to  consist  of  those  persons  that 


MARRIAGE  IN  INDIA. 


451 


have  been  expelled  from  their  castes,  which  is  a  punish- 
ment inflicted  for  certain  offenses.  Were  a  Hindoo  of 
any  other  caste  to  touch  a  Chandala,  even  by  accident, 
he  must  wash  himself  and  change  his  clothes.  He 
would  refrain  from  the  production  of  the  earth  if  he 
knew  that  they  had  been  cultivated  by  a  Chaiidixla.  A 
CJiandala  can  not  enter  a  temple,  or  be  present  at  any 
religious  ceremonies.  He  has  no  rank  in  society,  and 
can  not  serve  in  any  public  employment.  Hence  the 
punishment  of  expulsion,  which  is  supposed,  in  its  con- 
sequences, to  extend  even  to  another  life,  becomes 
more  terrible  than  that  of  death.  They,  and  all  unclean 
tribes,  are  in  some  extremity  by  themselves,  nor  dare 
they  even  pass  through  the  streets  that  arc  inhabited 
by  any  superior  castes. 

Women  in  India  occupy  a  middle  position.  They 
are,  in  general,  well  fed,  better  clothed  than  the  men, 
and  as  liberally  supplied  with  jewels  as  the  circumstances 
of  their  husbands  permit.  As  a  class,  they  have,  in 
their  own  opinion,  nothing  to  complain  of,  and  they 
are  perfectly  satisfied.  But  this  contentment  arises 
from  ignorance. 

In  no  country  in  the  world  is  more  importance  at- 
tached to  marriage  than  in  India.  The  one  great  ob- 
ject most  Hindoos  set  before  them  is  to  secure  the 
marriage  of  their  children.  To  have  a  son  to  perform 
their  funeral  ceremonies  is  considered  necessary  to  hap- 
piness in  another  world. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  in  India  is  the  marj'iage  of 
children,  ('ertain  classes  betrotli  even  infants.  A 
Ih'ahmin  youth  in  Calcutta,  sixtet-n  years  of  age,  was 
once  observed  to  be  very  melancholy.  t\  ])ers()n, 
noticing  his  pensive  look,  incjuired  wlu.'ther  he  had 
quarreled  with  his  father,  and  achised  him  to  return 
home.     The  youth  told  him  that  he  was  in  trouble  on 


452  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

account  of  his  daughter's  marriage.  He  had  not  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  a  husband  for  her,  and  he  was  obhged 
to  beg  to  meet  the  marriage  expenses.  The  class  of 
Brahmins  to  which  he  belonged,  betroth  their  children 
immediately  after  their  birth.  If  they  do  not,  they 
lose  their  honor  and  respectability.  In  most  cases 
children  are  several  years  old  when  married.  A  little 
boy,  on  his  marriage  day,  not  seeing  his  mother  near, 
began  to  cry,  the  bride  following  his  example  through 
sympathy.  A  person  present  had  a  cane,  which  he 
showed,  as  if  he  was  going  to  strike  them,  which  made 
them  stop.  But  in  the  bridal-chamber  the  poor  boy 
made  himself  hoarse  crying,  "Where  is  mamma?" 
Early  marriage  is  promoted  by  Hindoo  parents  because 
they  wish  to  get  so  important  an  event  over  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  because  they  consider  that  it  will  save 
their  children  from  much  harm.  The  wishes  of  the  two 
persons  to  be  married  are  not  consulted.  Generally 
the  future  husband  and  wife  never  see  each  other  till 
the  marriage  day.  The  Hindoo  marriage  system  is  like 
a  lottery  ;  the  two  persons  united  for  life  may  become 
attached  to  each  other,  or  they  may  not.  Many  of  the 
Hindoos  are  children  of  children,  therefore  the  consti- 
tution of  women  is  injured,  and  they  become  prematurely 
old.  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  they  are  weak 
in  body,  and  that  so  many  die  in  inf^mcy.  About  one- 
third  of  all  that  are  born  die  before  they  are  five  years 
of  age;  others  are  cut  off  in  }'outh.  If  mere  girls  are 
married,  it  is  plain  that  a  number  of  their  husbands 
must  die  before  they  attain  puberty.  The  unhappy 
girls  are,  according  to  Hindoo  usage,  doomed  to  be 
widows  for  life. 

The  expenses  of  marriages  are  very  extravagant. 
Some  parents  spend  on  marriages  the  money  they  have 
been  accumulating  for  years.     Others    are  obliged  to 


THE  CRUEL  LOT  OF  WIDOWS.  453 

borrow,  at  high  interest,  for  marriage  expenses.  The 
enormous  sum  required  to  marry  a  daughter,  led  the 
Rajputs,  in  many  cases,  to  destroy  their  female  infants. 
The  British  Government  has  made  strenuous  efforts  to 
check  female  infanticide. 

The  cruel  inhumanity  with  which  widows  have  been 
treated  is  one  of  the  foulest  blots  upon  the  Hindoo 
character.  A  poor  girl  is  given  by  her  father  in  mar- 
riage. She  may  never  have  set  her  eyes  upon  her  hus- 
band except  on  the  wedding  day ;  she  is  still  living  at 
her  father's  house  ;  but  if  the  man  who  calls  her  wife 
die,  she  is  his  widow,  and  his  widow  for  life.  She  is 
stripped  of  all  her  ornaments,  her  dress  is  changed  for 
the  widow's  robe,  and,  in  some  parts  of  India,  her  rich 
black  hair  is  shaved.  Then  begins  a  life  of  bitterness. 
She  is  charged  with  her  husband's  death  ;  he  has  been 
taken  from  her  to  punish  her  sins  in  a  former  birth  ;  the 
younger  she  is,  the  greater  sinner  she  must  have  been 
to  be  overtaken  so  soon  ;  and  her  accusations  are  pro- 
portionately malignant.  Her  presence  is  a  curse;  it 
must  never  blight  social  festivities  nor  sacred  ritual';  the 
house  is  cursed  for  her  sake  ;  no  accident  or  misfortune 
occurs  but  it  is  her  fault.  She  is  the  drudge,  the  butt, 
the  sorrow,  the  reproach  of  her  family.  "  If  her  husband 
has  been  a  Brahmin,"  according  to  the  Sniirti,  ''the 
widow  shall  never  exceed  one  meal  a  da\',  nor  sleep  on 
a  bed  ;  if  she  do  so,  her  husband  falls  from  Swarga." 
For  many  centuries  the  horrible  practice  of  Sati  (tlu' 
sacrifice  of  the  widow  by  fire)  prevailed  over  a  great  p.irl 
of  India.  The  unfijrtunate  widow  was  told  that  il  she 
fjurnt  herself  with  the  dead  body  of  her  husbantl,  both 
would  be  ha]jpy  in  Indra's  heaven""-'  for  as  man}'  }ears 
as  there  are  hairs  upon  the  human  body.     Many,  with 

*  Indra  is  the  god  ul  heaven. 


454 


A    TOUR  IN- BOTir HEMrSPHERES. 


this  false  hope  in  view,  and  to  escape  a  Hfe  of  wretched- 
ness, consented  to  burn  themselves.  To  prevent  them, 
however,  from  afterward  changing  their  minds,  they 
were  drugged,  and  kept  down  upon  the  funeral  pile  by 
bamboos,  while  their  dying  shrieks  were  drowned  by 
harsh  music.  In  the  name  of  religion,  a  son  set  fire  to 
a  funeral  pile  of  his  father.  In  the  year  1817  it  was 
found  that,  on  an  average,  two  widows  were  burnt  alive 
in  Bengal  every  day.  After  long  and  careful  inquiry, 
the  British  Government,  in  1829,  forbade  Sati,  and 
eventually  it  was  checked  in  native  States ;  and  en- 
deavored to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  widows  by  pass- 
ing a  law  in  1856  permitting  them  to  marry.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  hitherto  the  effect  has  been  trifling. 
Widows  are  still  treated  as  before,  and  widowers  of 
fifty  years  marry  girls  ten  years  old. 

Polygamy  is  not  very  common  among  Hindoos ;  never- 
theless, the  monstrous  system  of  Kulin  polygamy  still 
exists,  to  some  extent,  in  Bengal.  A  Kulin  Brahmin 
may  have  fifty  wives  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
A  n:\an  of  seventy  years  receives  a  large  sum  to  marry 
a  girl  of  ten.  When  the  wedding  ceremonies  are  over, 
he  leaves  his  new  wife  in  her  father's  house,  and  will  not 
visit  her  again  unless  he  receive  a  handsome  present. 

Throughout  every  part  of  India  there  are  people 
professing  some  peculiar  practice  of  penance  or  devo- 
tion, and  are  distinguished  by  various  names,  but  not 
restricted  to  any  particular  caste.  Every  Hindoo,  ex- 
cept the  Chandalas  (the  outcasts),  is  at  liberty  to  adopt 
any  of  these  modes  of  life.  Some  quit  their  relations, 
and  every  concern  of  this  life,  and  wander  about  the 
country  without  any  fixed  abode.  They  have  no  cloth- 
ing but  what  may  be  necessary  to  cover  nakedness ;  or 
anything  save  a  staff  in  the  hand,  and  a  pitcher  to  drink 
out  of ;  they  must  meditate  on  the  truths  contained  in 


DEVOTEES.  455 

the  sacred  writings  (the  Vedas,  etc.),  but  never  argue 
on  them.  The  food  is  to  be  rice  and  vegetables,  and 
eaten  but  once  a  day.  They  must  be  indifferent  about 
heat,  or  cold,  or  hunger,  or  praise,  or  reproach,  or  any- 
thing concerning  this  life,  subdue  the  passions,  and  look 
forward  with  desire  to  the  separation  of  the  soul  from 
the  body. 

It  may  be  that  some  of  the  passages  in  the  sacred 
writings,  being  understood  literally  by  the  ignorant, 
have  given  origin  to  those  extravagant  penances  with 
which  some  devotees  torture  themselves.  Some  make 
a  vow  to  keep  their  arms  constantly  extended  over  their 
head,  with  the  hands  clasped  together,  which  causes 
them  to  become  withered  and  immovable.  It  is  said 
that  one  of  them  had  just  finished  measuring  the  dis- 
tance between  Benares  and  Juggernaut  with  his  body, 
by  alternately  stretching  himself  upon  the  ground,  and 
rising ;  which,  if  he  performed  it  as  faithfully  as  he  pre- 
tended, must  have  taken  years  to  accomplish.  Some 
make  vows  to  keep  their  arms  crossed  over  their  breasts 
for  the  rest  of  their  days;  others,  to  keep  their  hands 
forever  shut,  and  their  nails  are  sometimes  seen  grow- 
ing through  the  back  of  the  hand  ;  some  by  their  own 
desire  are  chained  to  a  particular  spot,  and  others 
never  lie  down,  but  sleep  leaning  against  a  tree.  Some 
penitents  and  devotees  throw  themselves  under  the 
wheels  of  the  chariots  of  Shiva  or  Vishnu,  when  the 
idol  is  drawn  out  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  a  temple, 
being  thereby  crushed  to  deatli. 

These  chariots  are  more  properly  great  movable 
towers,  which  recjuire  many  oxen  and  some  hundreds 
of  men  to  drau-  them.  Some  make  a  vow  never  to 
speak,  and  go  to  the  dof)rs  of  houses  and  demand  char- 
ity, by  striking  their  hands  together.  They  take  noth- 
ing but   rice   which  is  given   them   ready  prepared   for 


456  A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

eating ;  and  if  it  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  their  hunger, 
they  pass  the  rest  of  the  day  sitting  in  the  shade,  scarcely 
looking  at  any  object  that  may  present  itself  to  them. 
There  are  others  called  Tadinums  (devotees),  who 
go  about  begging  and  singing  the  history  of  the  differ- 
ent incarnations  of  Vishnu.  They  beat  a  kind  of  tabor, 
and  have  small  brass  bells  tied  round  their  ankles, 
which  make  a  considerable  noise  when  they  walk  along. 
Contrary  to  the  practice  of  the  Hindoos,  many  of 
them  wear  their  hair,  which  by  a  continual  rubbing 
with  cocoanut-oil,  grows  to  an  extraordinary  length  and 
•thickness;  some  let  it  loose  on  their  bodies,  extending 
to  the  ground  ;  others  have  it  plaited,  and  wound  round 
the  head.  The  men  generally  wear  a  piece  of  cotton 
cloth  wrapped  round  the  loins,  which  descends  under 
the  knee,  but  lower  on  the  left  side  than  on  the  right ; 
another  piece  of  finer  cloth,  generally  muslin,  is  thrown 
over  the  left  shoulder,  and  hangs  round  the  body, 
sometimes  in  the  manner  of  a  Highlander's  plaid  ;  a 
piece  of  clean  muslin,  almost  in  the  shape  of  a  hand- 
kerchief, is  wrapped  very  neatly  round  the  head.  In 
the  ears,  which  are  always  exposed,  all  the  Hindoos 
wear  large  gold  rings,  ornamented,  according  to  their 
taste  or  means,  with  diamonds,  rubies,  or  other  pre- 
cious stones.  Persons  of  high  rank  sometimes  wear 
above  the  Jama  (a  robe)  a  short  close  vest  of  silk,  or 
worked  muslin.  On  days  of  ceremony  and  feasts,  they 
wear  bracelets  on  their  arms,  jewels  on  their  turbans, 
strings  of  pearls  round  their  necks,  hanging  down  upon 
the  breast.  They  shave  their  head  except  a  lock  on  the 
back  part  of  it,  which  is  covered  by  the  turban ;  they 
also  shave  the  beard  except  the  whiskers,  and  wear  slip- 
pers. In  cold  weather  sometimes  they  cover  them- 
selves with  a  shawl !  The  women  dress  nearly  like  the 
men,  except  that  the  cloth  is  finer,  and  the  number  of 


ETHNOLOGICAL  SIMILARITIES.  457 

jewels  greater.  In  general  they  wear  a  closed  jacket 
extending  downward  to  cover  the  breasts,  but  it  com- 
pletely shows  their  form ;  it  has  tight  sleeves  reaching 
half  way  from  the  shoulder  to  the  elbow.  A  piece  of 
white  cotton  cloth  is  wrapped  several  times  round  the 
loins,  and  falls  down  over  the  legs  almost  to  the  ankles 
on  one  side,  but  not  quite  so  low  on  the  other,  A 
piece  of  muslin  is  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder,  which, 
passing  under  the  right  arm,  is  crossed  round  the  mid- 
dle, and  being  fastened  by  tucking  part  of  it  under  the 
piece  of  cloth  that  is  wrapped  round  the  loins,  hangs 
down  to  the  feet.  The  hair  is  commonly  rolled  up  into 
a  knot  or  bunch  toward  the  back  of  the  head,  which 
is  fastened  with  a  gold  bodkin,  and  it  is  ornamented 
with  jewels.  They  wear  bracelets  and  rings,  in  their  ears, 
and  on  their  fingers,  ankles,  and  toes ;  often  they  wear 
a  small  ring  on  one  side  of  the  nostril.  Fashions  are 
unknown;  and  their  dresses,  like  their  customs,  are  the 
same  to-day  as  a  thousand  years  ago. 

One  of  my  objects  in  this  journey  through  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  to  trace  the  similarity,  if  any, 
of  our  North  American  Indians  with  the  natives  of  the 
South  Pacific  and  India.  So  far  I  perceived  a  great 
likeness  with  the  natives  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  of 
the  Navigator  Islands,  PVicndly  Islands,  and  of  New 
Zealand ;  that  is,  witli  the  Maorirs.  New  Zealand 
was  the  last  land  of  the  South  Pacific,  where  I  found 
similarity  of  the  natives  with  the  North  American  In- 
dians, and  as  I  have  remarketl  when  I  traveled  in  New 
Zealand,  tli.it  its  inhabitants  came  from  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  I  feci  satisfied,  that  all  the  natives  of  the  South 
Pacific,  similar  to  tlic  North  American  Indians,  came 
originally  from  the  west,  that  is,  from  the  Sandwich 
Islands,   and    perhaps   from   the   (Continent  of  America, 

and  n(jt  fr<;m  the  Soutii  Pacific  to  Americ.i. 
20 


458  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

In  India  I  made  the  same  researches  upon  this  suK 
ject,  and  I  feel  certainly  convinced  that  there  is  no 
similarity  in  physiognomy,  manners,  language,  and  re- 
ligion between  the  North  American  Indians  and  the 
present  Hindoos,  but  there  is  much  analogy  in  physi- 
ognomy, manners,  language,  and  religion  between  the 
North  American  Indians  and  the  aboriginal  tribes  that 
lived  in  India  previous  to  the  occupation  of  the  countr)- 
by  another  race — the  present  Hindoos.  When  the  for- 
eign invaders — the  present  Hindoos  vanquished  Hin- 
dostan — the  great  mass  of  conquered  native  inhabitants 
who  escaped  death  by  submitting  to  the  victors,  were  re- 
duced to  a  low  grade  of  society,  but  the  bolder  spirits 
preserved  their  independence  by  fleeing  to  the  woods 
and  hills,  having  lost  what  little  civilization  they  might 
have  possessed.  Persons  well  acquainted  with  India 
have  often  remarked  that,  while  in  Hindostan  they  find 
classes  unmistakably  with  a  common  relationship,  occu- 
pying proper  positions  in  society  ;  yet  they  find  others  in 
savage  freedom  among  the  jungles  and  mountain 
ranges,  who  have  given  their  names  to  entire  districts. 
viz  :  the  Domes  in  Domapur ;  the  Mirs  in  Mirwara ; 
the  Bengis  in  Bengal;  the  Tirhus  in  Tirhut ;  the  Koles 
in  Kolywara  and  Kolwan  ;  a  race  called  Kolis  west  of 
the  Aravulli  Hills,  etc.,  besides  others,  who  have  left 
no  names  to  provinces,  as  the  Ramusis  or  foresters,  the 
Santhals,  the  Khoonds,  the  Pariahs  of  Madras,  and 
many  others. 

I  copy  from  General  Briggs  the  following  learned 
and  interesting  remarks,  which  show  plainly  the  dis- 
crepancy between  the  Hindoos  and  the  aborigines  of 
Hindostan  : 

''  I.  The  present    Hindoos  are   divided   into   castes 
the  aborigines  have  no  such  distinctions. 

''2.   Hindoo  widows    are    forbidden    to    marry;    the 


ABORIGINES  OF  INDIA. 


459 


widows  of  the  aborigines  not  only  do  so,  but  usually 
they  marry  with  the  younger  brother  of  the  late  hus- 
band— a  practice  they  follow  in  common  with  the  Scyth- 
ian tribes. 

"  3.  The  Hindoos  venerate  the  cow,  and  (now  at 
least)  abstain  from  eating  beef ;  the  aborigines  feed  alike 
on  all  flesh. 

"4.  The  Hindoos  (now)  abstain  (or  at  least  ought  by 
their  religion  to  do  so),  from  the  use  of  fermented 
liquors ;  the  aborigines  drink  to  excess,  and  conceive 
no  ceremony,  civil  or  religious,  complete  without  liquor. 

''  5.  The  Hindoos  eat  of  food  prepared  only  by  those 
of  their  own  castes ;  the  aborigines  partake  of  food 
prepared  by  any  one. 

"6.  The  Hindoos  abhor  the  spilling  of  blood — -(this 
is  too  strongl)'  stated) ;  the  aborigines  conceive  no  re- 
ligious or  domestic  ceremony  complete  without  the 
spilling  of  blood,  and  offering  up  a  live  victim. 

"7.  The  Hindoos  have  a  Brahminical  priesthood; 
the  aborigines  do  not  venerate  Brahmins,  llieir  own 
priests  (who  are  self-created)  are  respected  according  to 
their  mode  of  life  and  their  skill  in  magic  and  sorcery, 
in  divining  future  events,  and  in  curing  diseases:  these 
are  the  qualifications  which  authorize  their  employment 
in  slaying  sacrificial  \-ictims,  and  in  distributing  them. 

"  8.  The  Hindoos  burn  their  dead  ;  the  aborigines 
bury  theirs,  and  with  them  their  arms,  and  sometimes 
■ilso  their  cattle,  as  among  the  Sc)'thians.  On  such  oc- 
c.isions  a  victim  ought  to  be  sacrificed  to  atone  for  tlie 
sins  of  the  deceased. 

"9.  The  Hindoo  ci\il  institutions  arc  all  municipal  ; 
the  aboriginal  institutions  arc  all  ])atriarchal. 

"  10.  The  Hindoos  ha\c  their  courts  of  justice  com- 
posed of  equals;  the  aborigines  ha\'e  theirs  com])()se(] 
of  heads  of  tribes  or  of  fa.milies,  and  chosen  lor  lile. 


460  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

"  II.  The  Hindoos  brouc^ht  with  them  (more  than 
3,000  years  ago*)  the  art  of  writing  and  science  ;  the 
aborigines  are  ilHteratc." 

Every  person  acquainted  with  the  North  American 
Indians  knows  that,  while  they  have  not  any  of  those 
above-mentioned  characteristics  of  the  Hindoos,  on  the 
other  hand  they  find  them  to  possess,  and  very  strongly 
too,  all  those  above-described  qualities  of  the  aborigines 
of  India.  The  ph}-siognomy  of  the  American  Indians 
in  many  points  resembles  the  Scythian  natives,  from 
whom  the  aborigines  of  India  arc  thought  to  have  de- 
scended. Its  principal  characteristics  are  stiff,  thin, 
straight  black  hair;  low  forehead;  eyes  small,  and 
sunk  ;  the  nose  somewhat  projecting  ;  the  cheek  bones 
prominent ;  the  face  large,  and  although  the  color  of 
the  Scythians  is  not  exactly  copper-color,  yet  it  is  of 
a  tawny -yellowish  tint,  which  shade  ma\'  alter  on 
account  of  different  causes;  namely,  climate,  food,  etc. 
The  face  broad  and  flatfish,  with  tlic  parts  not  well 
distinguished  from  each  other  ;  the  space  between  the 
eyes  flat  and  broad  ;  a  rather  flat  nose,  pr(^jecting 
cheeks,  narrow  and  oblique  eyelids,  and  chin  rather 
prominent. 

The  language  of  the  aborigines  is  one  of  the  Tura- 
nian tongues,  which  are  most  extensively  spoken.  A 
great  northern  branch  of  them,  which  may  vaguely  be 
called  Tartar  or  Scythian,  is  used  o\-er  Northern  and 
Middle  Asia  and  part  of  Europe  ;  and  a  great  south- 
ern division  is  employed  by  the  Tamils  and  some  other 
peoples  of  India,  as  well  as  by  the  Siamese,  Malays, 
and  islanders  of  the  Pacific.     These  Tui-anian  tongues 

*  General  Briggs  seems  to  be  in  error  in  stating  that  the  Hindoos 
brought  with  them  to  India  3,000  years  ago  the  art  of  writing,  for 
they  must  have  acquired  it  long  subsequent  to  their  settlement  in 
the  land. 


THE  ORIGINAL  LAXGUAGE.  46 1 

spoken  by  the  aborigines  are  termed  agglutinate  ;  that 
is,  glued  together.  The  reason  is,  that  pronouns  arc 
made  to  adhere  to  the  root  of  the  \'erb  to  form  the 
conjugation,  and  prepositions  to  substanti\es  to  firm 
the  declension.  On  this  account  the  Turanian  tongues 
have  also  been  called  terminational. 

Moreover,  long  ago  it  was  discovered  that  one-tenth 
of  the  words  used  in  the  Hindi  language  are  not  of 
Sanskrit  origin.  Going  a  little  further  south,  it  is  the 
same  with  one-fifth  of  the  Maharatta  words.  Vet,  ))r()- 
ceeding  southward,  it  was  found  that  a  still  larger 
number  in  the  Tamil,  Telugu,  Canarese,  and  Malax-an 
languages  are  freer  from  Sanskrit  intrusion.  Com- 
paring next  the  words  that  are  not  Sanskrit,  the)'  are 
disco\'ered  to  have  a  certain  resemblance  to  each  other, 
and  a  more  or  less  close  affinity  to  the  Tartar,  or,  speak- 
ing more  generall\%  at  least  to  the  Turanian  tongues. 
Thus  the  first  wa\e  of  conquest  that  rolled  over  India 
seems  to  have  been  a  Scythian,  or  at  least  a  Turanian 
one,  and  perhaps  more  than  one,  as  Scythian  words  are 
found  to  some  extent  differing  in  the  northern  and 
southern  families  of  Indian  tongues.  The  ancestors  of 
the  Sudra  communit}'  in  the  south,  and  probably  even 
in  many  other  parts  of  India,  must  ha\'e  been  some  of 
the  conquerors  of  India. 

Besides  these  observations,  the  Turanians  ha\-e  left 
monuments  of  architecture  which  are  not  of  the  Hrah- 
manic  style,  but  of  a  style  of  a  race  by  far  anterior  to 
Brahmanic  time.  h^urgLison — that  great  w  riteron  archi- 
tecture—  shows  that  the  Turanians  subse([uently  be- 
came the  great  temple-buildeis  in  India  ;  they  did  not 
greatly  distinguish  themsthes  in  war  or  in  literature, 
but  such  patient  and  de\-oted  tem])lc-builders,  the  world 
scarce  anywhere  else  has  seen.  With  tlu:  exception  of 
the  beautiful  rock-cut  temple  at  Karli  and  I^llora,  all  the 


462  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

great  architectural  erections  belong  to  the  Turanian 
Hindoos  in  Southern  India.  Even  the  famous  pagoda 
of  Tanjor,  given  by  Europeans  as  a  specimen  of  Brah- 
manic  architecture,  is  not  of  the  Brahnianic  style  at  all, 
but  it  ^\•as  constructed  secmingl}'  by  the  race  of  men 
whom  the  Brahmins  conquered  and  in  part  destroyed. 

From  all  these  observations  it  is  certain  that  our  North 
American  Indians  do  not  belong  to  that  race  which 
now  occupies  India,  but  most  probably  belong  to  the 
Turanian  nation — the  first  aborigines  of  Hindostan  — 
to  whom  the\' assimilate  in  manners.  physiognom\',  and 
language. 

But  how  and  when  did  the)'  find  their  way  to  the 
American  soil  ? 

Mr.  De  Guignes,  in  1761,  published  a  memoir  in  which 
he  endeavored  to  establish  that  in  the  fifth  century 
A.D.,  some  Budi'ihist  monks  from  China  sailed  for  a  part 
of  the  New  World,"  which  they  named  /v;,v-.V'? //;,'",  where 
the}-  established  Buddhisih.  Althoug'i  Khiprot'i  in 
1 83 1  endeavored  to  proxe  that  the  countrx'  called  h'ou- 
Sang  is  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Japan,  \'et  in  1844  M. 
De  Paravey,  and  in  1862  M.  Jose  Perez,  ha\e  both  sus- 
tained De  Guignes.  Several  others  ha\'e  supported  M. 
De  Guignes.  finally,  four  ye;irs  ago  Mr.  Charles  (i. 
Leland  published  a  work  entitled,  Fusaiig,  or  the  Dis- 
covery of  America  by  Chinese  Buddhist  Priests,  who 
confirms  the  same.  In  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Americanists, '"+  there  is  a  map  in 
which  there  is  marked  the  route  which  the  Buddhist 
priests  made  in  going  to  America.      The  sea-track  starts 

*  See  Memoires  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-lettres,  tome  xxviii. 

f  See  "  Congres  International  des  Americanistes.  Compte-rendu 
de  la  Premiere  Session."  Nancy,  1875.  Tome  premier.  Paris  : 
Maisonneuve  et  Co.,  Editeurs,  15  Quai  Voltaire.  Xancy  :  G.  Crepin 
Leblond,  Imprimeur,  14  Grand'rue.     Villc  vieille. 


THE  BUDDHIST  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.      463 

from  the  Yellow  Sea  in  China,  passes  through  the  islands 
of  Japan,  coasts  the  Aleuts  islands,  and  terminates  in 
Russian  America;  this  track  is  marked  458  A.D.  If 
this  is  so,  the  opinion  that  the  North  American  Indians 
came  from  China  is  an  established  fact.  That  from 
India  they  went  to  China  is  most  probable.  It  is  re- 
markable that  this  emigration  to  America  took  place 
just  when  the  aboriginal  Hindoos  were  conquered  and 
dispersed  by  the  Brahmins.  It  renders  a  very  probable 
fact  that  some  Indian  aboriginal  tribes  emigrated  to 
North  America,  and  from  thence  gradualh'  occupied 
the  entire  continent  of  America,  and  went  through 
several  physical  changes  on  account  of  climate,  food, 
etc. 


GAKKOW   Ma.N — kl.l  Kl  SI  M  AlU  1    01    OM    OI    '1  II 1.  A  HOKKilNM.  TkIHKS. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

SAILING    FOR     EUROPE — ADEN — RED     SEA — SUEZ     CANAL — PORT     SAID — 
MEDITERRANEAN    SEA — COASTS    OF   CALABBIA — MESSINA — NAPLES. 

On  the  first  of  March  we  embarked  on  the  fine  Ital- 
ian steamer  Australia,  one  of  the  best  belonging;-  to  the 
Bubattino  Company,  and  commanded  by  Captain  F. 
Borzoni,  a  gentleman  whose  skill  in  navigation,  and 
whose  kindness  and  attention  toward  passengers,  de- 
serves the  highest  recommendation  and  credit.  Our 
Venetian  friend,  Dr.  Carlo  Barzilai,  impatient  at  having 
to  wait  a  few  days  longer,  sailed  from  Bombay  on  board 
an  Australian  steamboat.  My  passage  (first-class)  was 
500  francs  in  gold  ;  but  the  gentlemanly  agent  and  Ital- 
ian Consul,  Mr.  C.  Grondona,  notified  me  that  I,  as  mis- 
sionary, was  entitled  to  a  discount  of  15  per  cent. 
What  a  difference  between  Italy  and  France  in  allowing 
a  discount  to  missionaries!  The  French  require  from 
missionaries  certificates,  testimonials,  letters,  and  I  do 
not  know  what  else ;  all  of  which  trouble  docs  not  pay 
for  the  amount  of  money  saved.  And  then  again,  the 
missionaries  must  go  in  the  second-class,  even  if  they  are 
willing  to  pay  the  difference  and  go  in  the  first-class. 
Liberal  and  Catholic  France !  Is  this  the  respect  and 
esteem  that  you  pay  toward  the  anointed  of  the  Lord  ? 
But  Italy,  by  far  more  advanced  in  libcralit}'  and  re- 
ligion, allows  15  per  cent,  discount,  and  permits  mission- 
aries to  go  by  any  class  they  wish  to  select. 

Going   out   of  the  harbor  of  Bombay  we   passed  an 
Italian  man-of-war.     It  was  a  feeling  and  glorious  mo- 
(464) 


EN' ROUTE  TO  EUROPE.  465 

ment  for  Italians  in  a  far  foreign  land  to  exchange  salu- 
tations with  their  national  flag,  which  onl\-  a  few  years 
ago  was  allowed  to  take  its  place  among  the  first  nations 
of  the  world. 

The  Arabian  Sea  was  calm  and  cheering,  and  the 
weather  splendid.  The  company,  composed  of  six  or 
seven  nationalities,  was  agreeable  and  very  sociable,  al- 
though at  table  it  sounded  like  a  Babel  on  account  of 
the  confusion  of  tongues,  yet  nearly  all  could  speak  two 
or  three  different  languages,  and  some  still  more.  One 
thing,  however,  was  unreasonable  among  most  of  the 
passengers,  especially  the  French,  and  it  was  that  they 
gave  orders  and  spoke  to  servants  in  French,  or  some- 
times in  Fnglish,  or  in  some  other  language.  All  the 
servants  were  Italian,  hence  it  was  unreasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  Italian  waiters  and  other  hands  should  speak- 
any  language  but  Italian  on  board  an  Italian  steamer. 
We  have  observed  that  on  board  of  French  steamers 
you  can  not  even  obtain  a  tumbler  of  water  unless  you 
ask  for  it  in  French.  Now,  on  board  an  Italian  boat,  if 
they  wanted  anything,  they  asked  for  it  in  an\'  other 
language  except  Italian.  Here  I  remember  an  anec- 
dote which  I  heard  from  a  French  priest  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  He  had  been  two  years  in  America  and  could  not 
or  would  not  learn  the  English  language,  which  he  dis- 
liked. ''Foitdrc,"  he  was  saying,  '■^  que  cc  que  ees(  eela. 
Vons  entender:  dire  oiise  (house) ;  per  son  lie  eo/zipreiui. 
Boiihcur !  Ditez  maiso)i,  et  tout  le  iiioiide  eouipreiid." 
("Thunder!  what  is  that  ?  You  hear  c-'/Z-Sd' (house)  ;  no- 
bfnJy  understands.  Gracious  I  say  uinisoii,  and  ever}'- 
body  understands  what  it  is.") 

After  si.x  days  of  a  pleasant  voyage  we  sighted  land 
on  the  Arabian  side  ;  then  tlie  Australia  coasted  the 
north-eastern  side  of  the  mountainous  .Socotora  Island, 
at   the   entrance   of  the   Straits   of   Bab-cl-mandeb,    50 


466  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

leagues  distant  from  Cape  Guardafui  in  Africa,  and  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Red  Sea.  The  Egyptian  Government  in- 
tends, or  at  least  intended,  to  carry  the  railway  from  Suez 
along  the  African  shore  of  the  Red  Sea  to  a  point  near  this 
Cape  Guardafui ;  thence  steamers  will  proceed  to  Aden, 
by  which  five  days  will  be  saved,  and  the  dangers  of 
the  Red  Sea  avoided.  This  island  is  about  70  miles 
long  and  27  wide,  and  although  mountainous,  yet  it  is 
fertile,  producing  cattle,  dates,  amber,  aloe,  etc.  Tam- 
ara,  a  good  harbor,  on  the  north-west  side,  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  Red  Sea,  is  the  capital  and  the  residence 
of  the  king.  The  inhabitants  are  Arabians  and  Moham- 
medans, and  keep  a  commerce  with  Arabia  and  Goa. 
Early  next  morning  the  Australia  cast  anchor  at  Aden, 
a  free  port  on  Arabia  Felix. 

Aden  is  an  English  settlement  and  coasting  station 
on  a  barren  and  rocky  peninsula,  ten  by  three  miles, 
hemmed  in  by  hills,  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a 
causeway  1,350  yards  wide.  Among  these  hills  there  is 
a  gap  toward  Seerah  Island,  in  the  crater  of  an  extinct 
volcano.  The  town  is  situated  on  the  east  end  of  this 
volcano,  and  it  has  an  outer  and  inner  harbor.  As  it 
seldom  rains,  perhaps  once  in  three  years,  water  is  very 
scarce.  A  condensing  apparatus  has  been  erected  near 
the  port  by  the  Oriental  and  Peninsular  Company's  agent. 
Vessels  arc  signaled  from  a  conical  peak  called  Signal 
Hill.  No  blade  of  grass  nor  tree. is  visible  ;  there  is  a  good 
road  four  miles  long  leading  to  the  town.  Except  the 
Governor's  gardens,  a  small  park  is  almost  the  only  green 
spot  here,  besides  a  few  trees  and  shrubs  to  be  seen  on 
the  opposite  mainland.  There  are  about  22,000  inhabit- 
ants, chiefly  natives,  tall  and  savage-looking,  with  yellow 
mop-heads.  There  is  a  bazar  where  sheep  with  fat  tails 
(sometimes  weighing  ten  pounds)  are  sold  ;  they  are 
found    in    Turkistan,   Afghanistan,    and    other    parts. 


'I'lljiiilll 


NA  TIVE  MISSIONARIES.  467 

Water  is  also  partially  found  in  the  Tanks,  of  which 
there  are  nine  of  various  sizes,  in  a  gorge  overlooking 
the  town,  and  which  are  the  great  sight  here.  They 
are  of  solid  masonry,  looking  like  forts,  built  many  cent- 
uries ago,  but  neglected  and  allowed  to  fill  up  with 
rubbish,  but  reconstructed  with  large  sums  by  the  En- 
glish Government  when  the  British  took  possession. 
They  can  hold  water  enough  for  two  or  three  years' 
consumption,  and  it  is  carried  to  town  by  camels  and 
donkeys.  There  is  considerable  trade  carried  on  with 
the  interior  of  Arabia  by  means  of  asses  and  camels  ; 
and  also  with  the  African  ports  of  Berbera  and  Bulhar 
opposite.  This  settlement  is  under  the  Governor  of 
Bombay. 

In  conversation  with  an  Australian  gentleman  on  the 
subject  of  Catholic  missions  and  Catholic  missionaries, 
he  remarked  having  read  in  the  "  Travels  "  of  Baron  de 
Hubner  that  native  missionaries  compare  unfavorably 
with  European  missionaries,  and  that  the  former  are 
timid,  not  profound  in  sciences,  and  lack  energy.  I 
replied  that  this  was  an  injustice  toward  the  native 
missionaries.  I  have  seen  native  students  in  the  Semi- 
nary of  Macao,  China,  having  superior  talents,  and 
very  proficient  in  studies ;  even  those  of  the  Malayan 
race,  native  of  the  island  of  Timor.  I  have  seen  native 
missionaries  in  the  Straits  Settlements,  India,  etc., 
that  could  well  stand  vis-a-vis  with  Europeans.  Perhaps 
their  great  humility  caused  the  Baron  to  fall  into  this 
error. 

The  gentleman  replied  that  l^aron  de  Ulibner  must 
have  meant  the  negroes  and  mulattoes,  who  are  certainly 
unfit  for  missionaries  ;  they  would  become  ridiculously 
proud,  and  unreliable.  Rome  seldom,  if  ever,  allows 
any  of  them  to  creep  into  the  priesthood  ;  although, 
unfortunately,  there  is  some  instance  of  the  kind,  yet  it 


468  A   JOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

might  have  happened  through  mistake  or  misunder- 
standing. 

A  Franciscan  missionary  and  a  nun  came  on  board 
from  Aden  to  go  to  Europe.  They  affirmed  to  us  what 
I  have  asserted  about  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  who 
are  so  immersed  in  the  vices  of  their  sects  that  they  do 
not  want  to  embrace  Christianity,  except  very,  very 
few ;  hence  the  grief  of  the  poor  broken-hearted  priests. 
This  poor  missionary  had  nearly  lost  the  use  of  his  feet, 
because,  for  many  years,  he  could  take  no  exercise  on 
the  rough  rocks  of  Aden. 

There  are  two  good  hotels,  but  there  is  hardly  any- 
thing worth  seeing  in  the  surburbs.  The  coast  of 
Arabia  is  seen  opposite,  lying  quite  low,  and  even  with 
the  water's  edge.  It  is  sometimes  unsafe  for  Europeans 
to  attempt  to  land  there,  as  instances  have  happened  of 
British  officers  going  on  shooting  excursions  and  being 
attacked  by  the  Arabs.  Some  natives  came  on  board 
to  sell  ostrich  feathers  and  eggs;  also  various  articles 
of  Indian  and  Chinese  workmanship ;  but  while  we 
were  bargaining  with  these  wild-looking  and  cunning 
descendants  of  Ismael,  who  are  arrant  cheats,  asking 
fabulous  prices  for  their  articles,  the  Australia  blew  the 
whistle — the  sign  for  sailing — and  all  the  Arabs,  with- 
out any  trade,  skedaddled  in  an  instant.  From  the 
boat  we  saluted  Dr.  Barzilai,  who  was  on  board  the 
Austrian  steamer  just  now  entering  Aden,  although  she 
had  left  four  days  before  us. 

The  Australia  turned  west-north-west  and  entered 
the  difficult  and  dangerous  Bab-cl-Mandcb  Straits,  be- 
tween Africa  and  Arabia,  and  between  the  Island  of 
Ferim  and  a  high  mountain.  The  steamer  steered  cau- 
tiously along  a  series  of  precipitous  and  perilous  head- 
lands on  the  south  coast  of  Arabia  Felix  and  some 
islands.     We  could  observe  the  towering;  Abvssian  high 


ANCHi;)KI[>    AT    NIGHT. 


RED  SEA  NAVIGATION.  469 

mountains.  The  Australia  rounded  the  Island  of 
Perim,  which  is  245  feet  above  the  sea,  and  only  five 
miles  from  Arabia  and  nine  miles  from  the  coast  of 
Africa.  On  this  barren  island  there  is  a  light-house  and 
an  excellent  harbor,  well  sheltered,  where  forty  ships  of 
the  line  could  anchor  safely  100  yards  from  the  shore. 
The  East-India  Company  formed  a  garrison  in  1857, 
but  it  was  abandoned.  It  was  the  road  of  the  Indian 
trade  before  the  discovery  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
The  navigation  of  the  Red  Sea  is  a  passage  consider- 
ed very  trying  on  the  constitution.  The  rays  of  the 
sun  penetrate  the  double  awnings  placed  over  the  deck, 
and  while  sitting  on  deck  from  8  A.M.  to  3  P.M.,  the  at- 
mosphere is  unbearable.  Rarely  is  there  a  breath  of 
wind  ;  the  body  becomes  heJited,  and  recourse  is  had 
to  drinking  soda-water  and  pale  ale  to  assuage  the 
burning  thirst  which  all  travelers  experience  in  travers- 
ing the  Red  Sea  either  for  the  first  or  seventh  time ; 
many  occasionally  use  some  aperient  draughts  to  pre- 
vent an  attack  of  fever.  Sometimes,  however,  the  wind 
blows  terrifically,  and  the  weather  is  very  boisterous; 
woe  to  those  unfortunate  vessels  that  are  cast  upon 
either  the  African  or  Arabian  shores ;  they  arc  merci- 
lessly plundered,  and  the  passengers  led  into  slavery. 
In  1859  '^^^  Peninsular  and  Oriental  Company  lost  two 
vessels  about  here.  The  Alum  was  wrecked  off  Moo- 
shcdjerah,  and  the  NortJtam  stranded  on  the  Shaali 
Baryer,  but  the  mail  agent  and  purser  reached  Sowakin""' 
(105  miles  in  an  open  boat).  We  were  very  lucky  to 
have  a  fine  breeze  during  the  entire  passage  of  the  \\Qi\ 
Sea,  and  we  did  not  ex[)ericnce  any  of  those  trying  suf- 
ferincTs  which    have   caused    sudden   deaths   to   several 


*  A  very  small  village  on  the  African  coast,  the  port  of  Soudan,  or 
Nubia. 


470 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


passengers  and  some  of  the  crews  of  numerous  vessels. 
The  want  of  Hghts  in  many  locaHties  of  this  sea  cause 
many  shipwrecks.  These  Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb 
(Babu  'Imandab,  Gate  of  Tears,  most  probably  so 
called  from  the  number  of  vessels  wrecked  in  passing 
through  it  in  the  earlier  times  of  navigation),  are 
much  hemmed  in  by  projections  of  land,  closed  in  on 
both  sides  by  barren,  rugged  rocks. 

The  steamer  steered  along  the  Arabian  coast,  and 
soon  passed  Mocha,  via  Yeman,  famous  for  its  coffee, 
of  which  in  Aden  I  got  a  good  quantity ;  the  kind 
Italian  Consul,  Mr.  Grondona,  from  Bombay,  had  tele- 
graphed the  agent  in  Aden  to  bring  a  quantity  for  me. 
Mocha,  once  a  city  of  18,000  inhabitants,  now  numbers 
hardly  5,000,  yet  it  is  the  best  port  in  the  Red  Sea,  and 
besides  coffee,  has  an  extensive  trade  in  balm,  myrrh, 
aloe,  incense,  etc. 

Twelve  hours  after  passing  Perim  we  sighted  the 
Great  and  Little  Harnish,  where  the  P.  and  O.  steam- 
er Alma  was  wrecked,  and  shortly  afterward  the  two 
guano  islands,  the  Zebayer  and  Jibel  Toogur ;  and  aft- 
erward Aboo  Eyle ;  and  then  the  volcanic  island  of 
Jeebel  Teer  (birdsj,  or  Dokhan,  which  very  seldom  is 
seen  in  eruption.  D;edalus  light  is  seen  at  times,  and 
afterward  you  sight  the  Torches.  Xx.  a  distance  you 
can  see  the  Abyssinian  mountains,  (S,ooo  to  10,000  feet 
high.  Magdala  is  400  miles  further  on.  You  soon  dis- 
cover a  group  of  coral  islands  called  Massowah,  in  the 
mouth  of  Anneslcy  Bay,  at  the  bottom  of  which,  sixty 
miles  from  ^Massowah,  is  Zoulla — the  ancient  Adulis, 
now  a  decaying,  but  once  a  very  important  and  com- 
mercial city.  Some  very  interesting  ruins  are  yet  pre- 
served, which  show  the  grandeur  of  times  long  passed  by. 

Leaving  the  Farsan  Islands  on  the  east  side,  we  sight- 
ed the  Konfadeh  Islands,  facing  Sowakin  and  its  islands 


MECCA. 


471 


on  the  Egyptian  coast,  and  soon  after  Jeddah  or  Djid- 
da,  a  little  town  and  bay,  and  port  from  which  there  is 
a  road  to  Mecca,  the  native  city  of  that  great  impostor, 
Mohammed.     Mecca  now  has  only  20,000  inhabitants ; 


the  city  is  well  and  handsomely  built,  but  is  situated  in 
a  sandy,  barren,  and  rocky  country,  nine  leagues  from 
the  sea.  The  Greeks  called  it  Macoraba,  and  it  is  called 
by  the  Mussulmans  Omni-Alcora  (mother  of  cities).     It 


473  A   TOUR  IlSr  BOTH  HEMTSPHERES. 

is  two  miles  long  and  one  broad.  Many  quarters  are 
now  abandoned  to  ruins,  and  two-thirds  of  the  houses 
now  left  are  unoccupied.  Once  it  was  very  rich,  and 
had  100,000  inhabitants;  but  since  the  number  of  pil- 
grims to  the  Kaaba,  or  Caaba,  has  considerably  dimin- 
ished, owing  to  the  decay  of  religious  zeal;  the  city  is 
not  wealthy,  and  is  fast  going  to  ruin.  The  Kaaba  (House 
of  God),  originally  a  temple  at  Mecca,  is  in  great  esteem 
among  the  heathen  Arabians,  who  before  they  embraced 
Mohammedanism,  called  a  small  building  of  stone,  in  the 
same  temple,  Kaaba,  which  has  in  turn  become  an  ob- 
ject of  the  highest  veneration  with  the  Mohammedans. 
On  the  side  of  it  is  a  black  stone,  surrounded  with  silver, 
called  braktan,  set  in  the  wall,  about  four  feet  from  the 
ground.  This  stone,  since  the  second  year  of  the  Hegira, 
has  served  as  the  Kcbla,  that  is,  as  the  point  toward 
which  the  Mohammedan  turns  his  face  during  prayer. 
This  black  stone  was  brought  thither  by  the  Angel  Ga- 
briel, as  they  fancy  ;  but  it  is  believed  to  be  a  meteoric 
stone.  This  stone  is  the  principal  wonder  of  the  place. 
The  grand  ceremony  through  which  the  pilgrims  pass, 
is  that  of  going  seven  times  round  the  Kaaba,  kissing 
each  time  the  sacred  stone.  Mount  Arafat,  close  by,  is 
a  sacred  place,  to  which  the  IMohammedans  make  pil- 
grimages. No  Christian  is  allowed  to  enter  Mecca,  and 
its  territory  is  regarded  as  sacred  to  a  certain  distance 
round,  which  is  indicated  by  marks  set  up. 

Further  up  on  the  Egyptian  side,  opposite  the  first 
cataract,  is  Berenice,  a  small  port  on  a  bay  of  the  Red 
Sea.  On  the  Arabian  side,  on  a  barren  and  sandy  des- 
ert, stands  Yembo,  the  port  for  Medina,  about  100  miles 
inland.  This  city  is  the  ancient  latrippa,  before  the  days 
of  Mohammed,  Jethreb.  It  is  a  miserable  city  of  about 
T,200  families;  of  no  importance  except  to  the  Moham^ 
medans  on  account  of  the  tomb  of  their  impostor,  Mo- 


MOUNT  ST  NAT. 


473 


hammed.  Most  of  the  houses  are  poorly  built,  and 
neither  the  tomb  nor  the  mosque  in  which  it  is  inclosed 
are  distinguished  by  any  magnificence,  although  some 
say  that  the  mosque  is  supported  by  400  columns.  Al- 
though this  tomb  is  held  in  high  veneration,  yet  the 
Mohammedans  do  not  consider  it  necessary  or  highly 
meritorious  to  visit  it,  and  for  this  reason  Medina  is  less 
visited  by  pilgrims  than  Mecca,  which  is  180  miles 
southward.  The  immense  treasure  of  pearls,  precious 
stones,  etc.,  accumulated  for  ages  by  the  contributions 
of  rich  Mohammedans,  was  pillaged  by  the  Wahabees 
a  few  years  since.  Mohammed  was  driven  from  Mecca 
to  Medina  in  A.D.  622,  and  it  is  that  epoch  which  is 
called  the  Hegira  (flight)  of  the  Mohammedan  era, 
from  which  their  dates  are  reckoned. 

The  Australia,  in  order  to  avoid  the  dangerous 
islands  on  the  Arabian  coast,  approached  the  little  port 
of  Kosseir,  on  the  shore  of  Upper  Egypt ;  yet  this  little 
town,  on  a  barren  and  uncultivated  soil,  has  a  great 
commerce  with  Arabia,  and  it  is  the  nearest  point  for 
the  Nile  and  Thebes  across  the  desert. 

The  officers  of  the  Australia  were  kind  enough  to 
point  out  to  us  the  localities  where  steamboats  had  been 
wrecked.  Numerous  boats  and  steamers  are  seen  con- 
veying pilgrims  to  Ycmbo  for  Medina,  and  to  Jcddah 
for  Mecca.  Opposite  to  the  promontory  of  Sinai,  we 
could  see  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba,  at  the  en- 
trance of  which  is  the  small  Arabian  city  called  Akaba, 
not  many  miles  from  the  ancient  and  famous  c\\.y  Pctra. 
We  neared  the  two  rocks  called  the  Two  l^rothers, 
and  the  Jubal  Islands.  In  the  mouth  of  Jubal  Strait 
is  Shadwan  Island,  where  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental 
Company's  steamer  Cariiatic  was  wrecked,  September 
13,  1869,  and  thirty  lives  lost,  with  the  mails,  specie, 
and  cargo.     The  Akaba  Gulf  runs  from  Ras  Moham- 


474  ^    TOUR  !N  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

med  up  to  Pctraea,  past  Jabel-cl-Mir,  5,000  feet  high,  a 
day's  journey  from  Akaba.  About  180  miles  from  Suez, 
the  Jubal  Strait,  or  Gulf  of  Suez,  six  to  ten  miles  broad, 
with  ridges  of  table-land  about  3,000  feet  high  on  both 
sides,  joins  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  on  the  Arabian  side, 
where  both  join  the  Red  Sea  at  an  angle  inclosing  the 
Mount  Sinai  region. 

The  ancient  and  small  Arabian  city  Tor  (el  Tor),  was 
now  visible  ;  it  is  the  place  where  travelers  for  Mount 
Sinai  disembark  to  ascend  the  Holy  Mountain  of  God. 
All  the  passengers  we  eagerly  gazing  to  obtain  a  peep  at 
that  sacred  mount  which  was  on  a  smoke,  because  the 
Lord  descended  upon  it  in  fire  ;  that  sacred  mount  which 
quaked  when  it  felt  that  the  majesty  of  God  was  on  it ; 
that  sacred  mountain  that  in  thunders  and  lightnings 
heard  the  voice  of  its  Maker  manifesting  to  us  His  holy 
will,  and  giving  to  us  His  ten  commandments  to  be  ob- 
served forever.  We  could  see  also  ]\Iount  St.  Catha- 
rine, upon  which  the  holy  body  of  the  holy  mart\-r, 
St.  Catharine,  from  Alexandria,  was  transported  by 
angels  and  deposited  there,  and  at  the  foot  of  which 
mountain  the  Greek  convent  of  St.  Catharine,  founded 
in  1 33 1  by  William  Bouldsell,  has  ever  since  con- 
tinued to  afford  hospitality  to  the  pilgrims  whose 
zeal  impels  them  to  brave  the  perils  of  the  road, 
rendered  impassable  by  hordes  of  Arabs,  who  lixe 
by  plunder,  unless  for  a  large  and  well  -  defended 
caravan.  The  Australia  crossed  the  spot  of  this 
sea  which  Moses  opened  with  his  rod,  and  made  the 
waters  on  both  sides  stand  firm  like  walls  to  let  the 
Israelites  pass  through  its  abyss,  and  with  dry  feet  from 
r^gypt  reach  the  Arabian  side,  and  when  by  the  power 
which  God  gave  to  his  rod,  closed  it  again,  thus  swal- 
lowing Pharaoh  and  his  numerous  army.  We  reached 
Suez  in  the  mornin^r. 


THE  SUEZ  CANAL. 


475 


The  Red  Sea  is  supposed  to  have  derived  its  name 
either  from  the  quantity  of  red  coral  found  in  it,  or 
from  Edom,  which  signifies  red,  which  was  on  its  east- 
ern shore.  The  waters  are  blue.  It  is  1,100  miles  long, 
by  150  broad,  with  a  depth  of  400  feet,  and  lies  be- 
tween Arabia  on  the  east,  and  Egypt,  Nubia,  and 
Abyssinia,  in  three  nearly  equal  parts,  on  the  west. 
The  steamer  takes  six  days  from  Bahr-Malak,  or  Salt 
Sea  of  the  Arabs  (the  Mare  ErytJireum  of  the  Greeks) 
to  Suez,  which  ancient  city  has  improved  a  little,  but 
not  much,  since  I  saw  it  about  ten  years  ago.  The 
present  population  is  about  14,000  ;  a  mixture  of  Turks. 
French,  Arabs,  Italians,  Greeks,  etc. 

\\"e  sighted  the  Suez  lights  near  the  harbor,  and  the 
shallow  inlet  through  which  the  lagoon  of  Suez  joins 
the  Red  Sea.  The  entire  length  of  the  Suez  Canal  is 
eighty-six  geographical  miles,  including  the  several 
small  lakes  through  which  it  passes.  A  depth  of  eight 
metres  is  constantly  maintained  by  dredging,  and  ships 
of  3,OCO  to  4,000  tons,  drawing  nearly  twenty-two  feet 
of  water,  go  through  in  twelve  to  thirteen  hours.  The 
allowed  rate  for  steamers  is  five  to  six  knots  an  hour. 
The  canal  will  not  do  for  paddle-wheel  boats,  because, 
among  other  objections,  there  would  be  too  much  wash- 
ing against  the  banks.  The  sand-storms  and  excessive 
evaporation  to  which  it  is  liable,  require  constant  atten- 
tion. The  Red  Sea  tide,  which  rises  five  to  six  feet  at 
.Suez,  is  felt  up  to  the  Bitter  Lakes  ;  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean tide  to  Kantara.  A  telegraph  wire  runs  througli 
from  Port  Said  to  .Suez,  following  the  rail  and  Sweet 
Water  Canal  along  the  second  half,  between  Ismailia 
and  .Suez.  .Sidings,  called  garcs  in  French,  are  pro- 
vided here  and  there  for  meeting  siiips.  The  regula- 
tions for  meeting  ships  are  : — from  Suez  to  Ismailia,  just 
half  way,  ships  coming  from  Port  Said  have  the  right 


^^6  --t    TOUR  ly  BOTTf  HEMTSPHERES. 

of  the  way ;  hence  vessels  coming  from  Suez  must  stop 
at  some  gare,  to  which  they  are  signaled  ;  sometimes 
they  must  wait  even  a  full  day  or  more  till  the  canal  be 
free.  From  Ismailia  to  Port  Said,  the  other  half,  it  is 
the  reverse. 

The  great  work  of  the  Suez  Canal  was  first  projected 
by  Napoleon  I.  in  1798,  but  he  gave  it  up,  because  the 
scientific  men  of  the  expedition  sent  by  him  to  the 
Isthmus  represented  that  the  Red  Sea  was  thirty-three 
feet  higher  than  the  Mediterranean  Sea, .when  in  reality 
the  level  of  the  two  seas  is  nearly  the  same,  the  Red 
Sea  being  only  six  inches  higher  at  a  mean  level  than 
the  Mediterranean.  The  project  was  not  new,  as  an 
old  Canal  of  the  Kings  was  cut  by  Pharaoh-Necho  and 
the  Ptolemies  from  Bubastis  to  Suez,  100  miles  long, 
which,  getting  filled  with  sand,  was  cleaned  out  in  the 
seventh  and  eighth  centuries,  and  restored  by  Caliph 
Omar,  as  the  Canal  of  the  FaitJfnl.  Yisconte  de  Les- 
seps  in  1854  projected  it,  and  opened  tlie  scheme  to  the 
late  Viceroy,  Mehemet  Said,  and  in  1854  obtained  a 
iirman  from  the  Sultan,  and  a  concession  by  the  Pasha, 
and  having  formed  a  comp.any,  work  was  commenced  in 
1859.  English  engineers  laughed  at  the  scheme;  but 
in  reality  it  was  jealousy  of  England,  fearing  a  political 
superiority  which  the  project  was  to  give  to  France. 
On  the  death  of  Mehemet  Pasha,  the  permission  of  the 
Company  to  hold  any  territory  in  T^gypt,  one  of  tlie 
great  objects,  was  formally  withdrawn  by  the  Sultan. 
The  difficulties,  however,  were  settled ;  the  work  at 
first  was  done  by  the  forced  labor  of  fellahs,  who 
scooped  the  sand,  mud,  and  clay,  in  the  line  of  the  cut- 
ting, and  carried  it  off  in  baskets;  but  their  labor  was 
mostly  superseded  by  sixty  or  seventy  steam  dredgirig 
machines.  ILxccpt  at  Chalouf,  there  was  little  stone 
along  the  line.     Mr.  Talabot  formed  a  rival  project  for 


SHEPHERD' S  HOTEL. 


A77 


a  canal  from  Alexandria  to  Suez  via  Cairo,  250  miles 
long.     My  mind   here  transported    me   to  that  truly 


amusing  view  which  I  enjoyed  in  Cairo,  from  the  well- 
known  Shepherd's  Hotel — a  view  which,  when  a  person 
has  once  seen  it,  he  will  never  for^^^et  throut-h  life. 


478  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

The  present  Suez  Canal  consists  of  about  one-fourth 
artificially  made,  while  the  rest  runs  through  natural 
lakes  lying  in  the  hollows,  chiefly  the  Bitter  Lakes  and 
Lake  Timsah,  which,  though  shallow,  are  sufificiently 
deep  to  be  turned  to  account.  The  canal  cutting  is  in- 
tended to  be  327  feet  wide  at  the  surface  of  the  water, 
72  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  26  feet  deep.  Where  the 
cuttings  are  hard  and  costly,  the  surface  width  is  re- 
duced to  196  feet.  About  one-third  of  the  whole  is 
embanked,  the  rest  being  at  or  below  the  sea-level.  It 
was  opened  in  form,  November  17,  1867,  by  a  proces- 
sion of  English  and  foreign  steamers,  in  presence  of  the 
Khedive,  the  Empress  Eugenie,  Emperor  of  Austria, 
Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  and  other  personages,  at  Is- 
mailia,  with  religious  ceremonies  by  Napoleon's  al- 
moner, Bishop  Bauer,  and  some  other  Egyptian  relig- 
ious performances  by  the  moolahs. 

The  Australia  did  not  stop  long  near  the  entrance  of 
the  canal.  A  bust  of  Waghorn  was  set  up  here  by  the 
Canal  Company.  The  steamer  was  soon  signaled  to 
proceed  ;  we  passed  the  ruined  monument  on  a  hill, 
Madama,  where  are  the  remains  of  the  old  canal ;  here 
there  is  a  pontoon  bridge.  At  the  Chalouf  railway 
station,  on  a  stone  plateau,  near  remains  of  the  old 
canal  and  El-Tarraba  Hill,  we  were  signaled  to  stop, 
and  waited  over  one  hour  and  a  half.  We  saw  several 
steamers  passing  by,  but  we  were  not  allowed  yet  to 
proceed,  because  other  ships  were  on  the  way.  Here 
the  cutting,  four  miles  long,  is  narrowed  between  banks 
forty  feet  high.  Several  of  us  availed  ourselves  of  the 
stoppage  to  stroll  along  the  desert.  The  Australia  pro- 
ceeded through  a  lake,  the  middle  of  which,  that  is,  the 
channel,  was  buoyed ;  at  Geneffe  station  we  were  sig- 
naled to  stop  again  for  some  hours  ;  I  landed  to  see  the 
desert,  where  there  were  pelicans  and  other  Arabian 
birds  of  prey. 


A  MIRAGE.  479 

In  the  hottest  part  of  the  day,  from  the  deck  or  from 
the  desert,  at  a  distance  far  on  the  Egyptian  side,  we 
could  observe  an  extensive  lake  bound  by  a  ridge  of  low 
hills  with  miniature  houses ;  we  inquired  from  the  offi- 
cers what  lake  was  that  looming  up  at  a  distance ;  they 
laughed  at  us  ;  it  was  a  mirage  !  Some  time  later,  a 
similar  mirage  was  observed  on  the  Arabian  side  far 
into  the  desert.  This  optical  phenomenon  is  frequent 
in  the  dry,  sandy  desert  of  Egypt  and  Arabia.  The 
surface  of  the  earth  or  sea  becoming  heated,  com- 
municates a  portion  of  its  caloric  to  the  superincum- 
bent layer  of  air,  which  thus  becomes  less  dense  than 
the  superior  layer.  The  rays  of  light  which  proceed 
from  an  object  in  the  heated  layer  will  then  be  bent 
downward,  and  thus  arrive  at  the  end  in  such  a  direc- 
tion as  to  cause  the  object  to  appear  above  its  actual 
position.  In  the  desert,  where  the  surface  is  perfectly 
level,  a  plain  thus  assumes  the  appearance  of  a  lake, 
reflecting  the  shadow  of  objects  within  and  around  it. 

At  last  we  were  signaled  to  start.  Having  passed  Ka- 
bret-el-Aischouhe  (two  or  three  houses)  at  the  north  end 
of  Little  Bitter  Lake,  near  the  ruins  of  a  Persepolitain 
monument,  we  crossed  the  Great  Bitter  Lake,  at  the 
south  end  of  which  there  is  a  light ;  and  another  at  the 
north  end  of  the  same  lake.  This  lake  is  called  Aiucr,  or 
Great  Bitter  Lake  (bitter  from  the  salt) ;  and  the  Little 
Bitter  Lake  is  called  also  Little  Amcr.  Here  is  Che- 
brcwct  Peak,  in  the  Genctte  Hills,  to  the  south-west. 
J-'ive  miles  further  we  were  at  the  Scrapcuni'^^  railway 
station,  on  a  plateau  46  feet  abo\'c  sea,  hence  the  banks 
are  39  to  40  feet  high  ;  here  there  are  ruins  of  a  monu- 
ment, on  a  hillock,  with  Persian  and  l'>4)plian  charac- 
ters, close  to  the  railway  station,  and  remains  of  an  old 

*  So  named  from  ;iii  ancient  nioiiunient. 


48o 


A   TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


canal.  At  Toussoum  we  were  signaled  to  stop,  where 
we  waited  for  nearly  two  hours.  We  observed  on  the 
Arabian  side  a  little  black  cloud  advancing  toward  the 
canal,  when  it  suddenly  unfolded  itself  and  covered  the 
whole  horizon.  It  was  one  of  those  sand-storms  which 
so  many  times  have  proved  fatal  to  entire  caravans  by 
burying  them  all  under  sand.      It  was  very  providential 


Sri'V,    CANAL,   AT    ISMAILIA. 


that  the  ship  was  well  secured  to  its  mooring,  aiul 
although  the  sand  covered  tlic  entire  deck,  it  did  not 
do  any  harm  ;  while  with  the  same  quickness  that  it 
came  the  storm  disappeared.  When  the  weather  cleared, 
we  found  that  a  part  of  the  desert  had  been  entirely 
stripped  of  sand,  leaving  a  bed  of  little  sharp  stones, 
while  on  the  opposite  side  a  low  range  of  sandy  hills 


ISM  A  ILIA.  481 

had  been  formed,  just  like  snow-drifts.  Finally  we  were 
signaled,  and  the  steamer  arrived  at  Ismailia,  where  we 
anchored  for  the  night. 

It  was  a  very  dark  night  and  the  lights  imparted  to 
the  tow  n  a  very  charming  appearance,  and  also  to  the 
entire  lake.  Some  of  the  passengers  desired  to  land 
for  an  hour  or  two,  but  following  the  advice  of  the  cap- 
tain, I  decided  to  remain  on  board. 

Ismailia  is  a  half-way  town  between  Port  Said  and 
Suez,  42  miles  distant  from  the  former  and  44  from 
the  latter.  It  is  the  central  depot  of  the  company's 
works,  and  it  has  hotels,  banks,  a  church,  a  theater,  etc- 
It  was  named  after  the  present  Viceroy.  It  is  the  cen- 
tral railway  station,  and  had  offices  and  dock-yard. 
Here  the  Sweet,  or  Fresh  Water  Canal  from  Zagazig  (a 
sort  of  New  River)  falls  in  :  a  necessary  work,  40  feet 
wide,  9  feet  deep,  opened  in  1862,  before  the  ship  canal 
was  made,  to  supply  drinking-water  along  the  line.  It 
turns  off  south  to  Suez  to  supply  that  place  with  water, 
and  a  branch  in  pipes  goes  to  Port  Said.  Small  craft 
sail  through  it,  and  it  is  also  used  for  irrigation.  In 
the  morning  this  half-way  capital  appeared  to  us  very 
elegant  and  neat ;  it  is  situated  on  the  north  edge  of 
Lake  TimsaJi  (or  Crocodile  Lake);  but  it  has  unmis- 
takable marks  that  it  is  going  down  very  fast.  Having 
the  right  of  the  way,  we  started  without  making  an\' 
stop.  We  passed  Lake  Timsah,  at  which  the  Khcdixc 
has  a  x'cry  elegant  summer  house  ;  the  FJ-ditisir  village, 
where  there  is  a  church.  This  is  the  highest  ground  in 
the  isthmus,  through  which  the  canal  is  taken  by  a  cut- 
ting in  sandstone  to  the  level  of  the  lake  Here  there 
is  a  floating  bridge.  After  passing  the  EI-Ferdane  vil- 
lage, the  steamer  entered  the  Ballah  Lakes,  between 
swamps  and  low  hills.  At  Kantara  sitling,  1,300  feet 
long,  on   the  old  road   and   telegraph   route  to  Syria, 


482 


A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 


there  is  a  small  hotel.  High  waters  reach  this  place, 
and  sands  drift  heavily  in  east  winds.  The  canal  pene- 
trates the  Ballah  Lakes,  or  laguna,  its  whole  width, 
and  cuts  through  a  strip  of  sand  four,  miles  wide 
and   about   four  feet  above  sea  level,  which  separates 


A    STREET   IN    CAIRO. 


this  laguna  from  that  of  Menzalch.  Now  it  follows  the 
coast  for  25  miles,  and  it  is  only  separated  from  the  sea 
by  a  nawow  strip  of  beach.  It  is  the  site  of  old  corn- 
fields, once  fertilized  by  the  Tanitic  branch  of  the  Nile, 
and  now  desolate.  On  the  south  side  of  the  very  shal- 
low lake,  or  lagune  Menzaleh  (swarming  with  sea-fowl) 


IN  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


483 


is  Ras-el-Ech  village.  Now  we  sighted  the  Port  Said 
light-house,  with  its  electric  light,  180  feet  high. 

Although  Port  Said  has  improved  since  I  saw  it, 
nearly  eleven  years  ago,  yet  it  is  a  dirty  and  uninviting 
modern  city  of  10,000  inhabitants ;  it  is  laid  out  in 
regular  streets,  standing  on  a  platform  made  by  stuff 
excavated  from  the  canal.  The  land  here  is  fast  rising 
out  of  the  sea,  from  the  deposits  of  the  Nile.  Its  quay 
is  grand,  the  basin  is  137  acres,  and  the  dry-dock  440 
feet  long  for  shipping,  outside  of  which  is  the  port,  or 
roadstead.  This  lies  between  two  breakwaters,  or  moles. 
The  stone  for  all  the  edifices  are  artificial  stones.  There 
are  several  shops  selling  curiosities,  for  which  they  de- 
mand high  prices,  but  are  contented  with  half  what 
they  ask.  What  a  contrast  between  the  streets  of  Port 
Said  and  Cairo  !  The  streets  of  Cairo  are  tridy  Oriental, 
full  of  life,  and  with  an  ebb  and  tide  of  people  crowd- 
ing them  ;  whereas  a  gloom  of  death  pervades  those  of 
Port  Said,  which  by  no  means  look  Oriental. 

Without  any  delay  the  Australia  proceeded  into  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  In  a  few  days  wc  were  coasting 
the  southern  part  of  the  not  yet  free  unfortunate  island 
of  Candia,  still  in  slavery  under  the  tyrannical  misman- 
agement of  the  Porte.  A  few  days  more  and  we  were 
steering  along  the  coast  of  the  mountainous,  but  fertile 
Calabria.  The  city  of  Melitto  ai)pcarcd  to  us  only  a 
stone's  throw.  The  vineyards,  fig-trees,  olive-yards,  etc., 
were  distinctly  seen.  Wc  could  obscr\'c  plainly  the 
railroad,  and  the  train  just  passing.  Having  rounded 
Cape  Spartivcnto,  the  majestic  Mount  VAxya  in  Sicily 
was  seen,  but  at  a  great  distance. 

Mount  Etna,  10,250  ftx-t  higli,  called  Monte  GibcUo, 
is  on  the  eastern  part  of  Sicil}'  near  Catania,  from  whicli 
place  to  the  summit,  30  miles,  to  ascend  it  the  traveler 
must  pass  through  three  distinct  climates— the  hot,  the 


484  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

temperate,  and  the  frigid.  The  lowest  region  is  very  fer- 
tile ;  the  second,  called  woody,  is  fertile  in  vineyards, 
olive-yards,  etc.,  but  especially  is  rich  for  its  valuable  tim- 
ber. The  upper,  or  barren  region,  is  marked  out  by  a 
circle  of  snow  and  ice,  which  brings  from  three  to  four 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  Many  parts  of  the  second 
region  are  the  most  delightful  spots  upon  earth  ;  the  air 
is  cool  and  refreshing,  and  every  breeze  is  loaded  with  a 
thousand  perfumes,  the  whole  ground  being  covered  with 
the  richest  aromatic  plants.  It  is  believed  that  Etna  is 
exhausting  its  volcanic  powers,  as  the  eruptions  of  mod- 
ern times  are  neither  so  frequent  as  in  former  ages,  nor 
are  they  so  tremendous  in  their  extent  and  effects. 

Soon  we  sighted  Reggio  in  Calabria,  and  having 
passed  the  ferry  steamboat  running  between  Reggio 
and  Messina  in  Sicily,  at  10  A.M.  we  entered  the  fine 
harbor  of  this  city. 

Sicily,  the  ancient  Triuacria,  is  the  largest,  most 
populous,  and  most  fruitful  island  of  the  Mediterranean. 
The  surface  is  greatly  diversified  by  mountains  and  val- 
leys. A  chain  of  mountains  extends  through  the  island 
from  east  to  west,  but  the  most  elevated  summit  is  the 
famous  volcano,  Mt.  Etna.  The  climate  is  warm,  but 
pleasant,  the  winters  mild,  and  the  heat  of  summer 
tempered  by  sea  breezes.  The  inhabitants  are  calcu- 
lated to  number  1,800,000.  The  principal  products  are 
maize,  A\heat,  other  kinds  of  grain,  flax,  hemp,  wines, 
safi~ron,  cotton,  silk,  olives,  and  various  fruits.  The 
exports  consist  chiefly  in  silk,  corn,  salt,  olive-oil,  sul- 
phur, etc. 

Messina,  the  ancient  Mcssana,  a  flourishing  and  hand- 
some city  of  Italy,  is  the  second  capital  of  the  island  of 
Sicily.  It  is  ornamented  b\'  magnificent  public  build- 
ings and  masterpieces  of  architecture,  and  viewed  from 
the  sea  it   is   truly  picturesque.      It  has   an    extensive 


fA SS/A'G  BY  ITALY.  485 

transit  trade  between  Italy  and  the  Levant,  and  ex- 
ports silk,  wines,  oil,  fruits,  wool,  etc.  It  is  well  known 
in  America,  where  its  excellent  oranges  and  lemons  arc 
imported  in  great  quantity.  Messina  is  celebrated  for 
the  famous  and  precious  letter  which  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin Mary,  Mother  of  God,  in  her  own  handwriting,  sent 
to  the  Messinians  ;  also,  for  a  lock  of  her  hair,  an  arm 
of  St.  Paul,  and  the  skull  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen.  In 
company  with  several  passengers  I  visited  the  city. 
Messina  has  given  to  the  world  many  ancient  and 
modern  illustrious  men.  At  2  P.M.  the  steamer  left  for 
Naples,  and  steered  very  cautiously  between  Scylla  on 
the  coast  of  Calabria  and  CJiarybdis  in  Sicily.  This 
strait  has  always  been  deemed  very  dangerous  to  naviga- 
tors, and  many  vessels  endeavoring  to  avoid  the  formi- 
dable rocks  of  Scylla  on  the  coast  of  Italy  fall  into  the 
terrible  whirlpool  of  Charybdis  on  the  coast  of  Sicily. 

By  daylight  we  passed  Lipari,  the  largest  of  a  group 
of  twelve  islands,  of  which  only  four  are  inhabited  by 
about  20,000  people.  These  are  the  ancient  Police, 
Vulcanics,  and  Insula;  Lipancorum,  and  feigned  to  be 
the  residence  of  yEolus  and  Vulcan.  Lipari  is  the  capi- 
tal of  this  group,  a  city  of  10,000  inhabitants  ;  the  isl- 
and is  15  miles  in  circumference  and  very  healthy,  and 
Has  15,000  inhabitants.  The  volcanic  eruptions  of  this 
island  ceased  in  the  sixth  century,  but  the  island  feels 
the  effects  of  the  activity  of  existing  subterranean  fires. 
The  celebrated  crater  of  Vulcano  shows  that  it  is  only 
slumbering,  and  j^erhaps  not  extinct. 

\\\  the  summer  of  183 1,  between  the  island  Pantella- 
ria  and  Sciacca  in  Sicily,  a  volcanic  island  about  one 
mile  in  circumference  and  150  to  160  feet  high,  rose 
from  the  sea  ;  and  as  it  was  first  discovered  by  an  En- 
glish vessel,  whose  hands  planted  there  the  British  flag, 
England    claimed    it.     The    King    of    Naples    claimed 


486  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

it  because  it  was  within  Sicilian  waters.  Hostile  com- 
plications arose  between  England  and  Naples,  when  lo  ! 
after  a  few  months  the  island  was  nowhere.  It  had 
disappeared,  thus  putting  an  end  to  all  complications. 
It  appeared  again  in  the  spring  of  1832,  and,  if  I  do  not 
mistake,  it  has  since  again  disappeared. 

The  Australia  steered  close  to  Stromboli,  at  present 
the  most  remarkable  of  the  islands  ;  its  fires  are  in  un- 
remitting activity,  the  eruptions  taking  place  at  regular 
intervals,  varying  from  three  to  eight  minutes.  The 
island  is  surrounded  by  numerous  vineyards,  which  give 
a  very  superior  and  excellent  wine. 

Early  next  morning  the  Australia  passed  between 
the  Punta  della  Campanella,  on  the  continent,  and  the 
island  of  Capri.  As  there  are  no  more  Sirens,  who,  by 
their  singing,  fascinated  those  that  sailed  by  their  islands, 
and  then  destroyed  them,  there  was  no  need  to  tie  the 
captain  or  the  pilot  to  the  mast,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
danger  of  being  attracted  by  the  songs  of  the  Sirens, 
and  the  peril  of  having  the  Australia  destroyed  by 
them,  as  Homer  relates  to  have  been  done  to  Ulysses 
sailing  through  the  Tyrrhenean  Sea.  At  the  Punta 
della  Campanella  many  years  ago,  I  saw  some  remains 
of  the  Temple  of  Minerva,  mentioned  by  Homer,  to 
which  goddess  a  sacrifice  was  offered  on  board  the  ship 
of  Ulysses  in  order  to  be  protected  from  the  danger  of 
being  fascinated  by  the  song  of  the  Sirens,  and  to  pre- 
vent having  his  ships  destroyed  by  them.  The  island 
of  Capri  still  contains  the  ruins  of  the  Palace  of  Tiberius, 
who  spent  here  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life  in  de- 
grading voluptuousness  and  infamous  cruelty.  The 
island,  five  miles  long  and  two  broad,  lies  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  beautiful  Gulf  of  Naples,  and  consists  of 
two  mountains  of  limestone,  remarkable  for  their  pict- 
uresque   shape    and    the    well-cultivated    valleys    sur- 


Mir.Ax  Caiukdral. 


LANDING  IN  NAPLES. 


487 


rounding  them.  A  rock,  1,600  feet  high,  separates 
Capri  from  Anacapri,  two  small  towns  of  3,500  inhab 
itants.  Capri  is  well  known  for  its  exquisite  wines  and 
for  its  singular  cavern,  called  Grotta  Azcurra,  visited 
by  nearly  all  visitors.  Before  noon  we  all  landed  in 
Naples,  safe  and  well,  of  which  it  is  justly  said,  "  V^edi 
Nap'jli  e  poi  inori''  ("See  Naples,  and  then  die"). 


CHAPTER     XXIV. 

VISIT  TO  ITALY — PASSING  THROUGH   FRANCE — EMBARKATION  IN  HAVRE 
— CROSSING  THE  ATLANTIC — ARRIVAL   IN   NEW   YORK. 

For  the  accommodation  of  several  passengers  I  re- 
mained in  Naples  only  one  day,  then  I  left  for  Gallipo- 
li,  my  native  city.  At^Lecce  I  was  met  by  my  two 
brothers  and  some  other  relations  and  friends,  and  a 
few  miles  from  Gallipoli  other  relations  and  friends 
met  me  in  several  carriages,  and  I  entered  Gallipoli  at 
2  A.M.  on  Palm  Sunday.  I  kept  fasting  in  order  to 
celebrate  Mass  on  such  a  great  day. 

Having  rested  for  some  weeks  in  the  company  of  my 
relations  and  friends,  I  returned  to  Naples  together  with 
my  only  sister,  Teresina,  and  one  of  my  nieces,  Checchina, 
daughter  of  my  youngest  brother  Felice.  After  some 
days  spent  in  Naples,  in  company  of  the  two  above- 
mentioned  relations,  I  made  the  tour  of  Italy,  visiting 
the  principal  sanctuaries.  At  Loretto,  all  went  to  con- 
fession and  communion  ;  then  we  visited  the  Sanctuary 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  at  Bologna;  at  Padua,  the  Sanc- 
tuary of  St.  Anthony  ;  at  Venice,  that  of  St.  Mark  ;  at 
Milano,  that  of  St.  Ambrose;  at  Turino,  that  of  the 
Holy  Sindone  (sheet)  of  our  Saviour;  then  at  Neive 
we  were  met  by  Rev.  John  Baptist  Imassi,  in  whose 
company  was  the  zealous  and   learned   parish  priest  o( 

Neive,  Rev.  Dr.  -.     In  Neive  we  enjoyed  the  kind 

hospitality  of  Father  Imassi ;  and  here  I  must  acknowl- 
edge the  kindness  of  his  two  brothers  and  their  families, 
ass) 


^/JTT' '■■•:-'T) 


'~""'l: 


ROME. 


489 


especially  of  Father  Imassi's  interesting  niece,  Clemen- 
tina, of  the  Chevalier  Giuseppe  Cavalli,  his  wife,  Mad- 
dalena,  and  their  amiable  daughter,  Celestina.  We 
visited  Florence,  and  the  famous  Baptistery,  Cathedral, 
and  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa.  Then  we  went  to  Rome, 
to  be  present  at   the  Jubilee  of  Pius  IX.,  and  sec  the 


liAl'TISTERY    AT    I'JSA. 


exposition  of  all  gifts  presented  to  him  on  this  occasion 
from  every  part  of  the  world. 

In  Rome  we  were  happy  to  find  my  eldest  brother, 
Ferdinand©,  who,  in  compan)'  of  his  wife,  Peppina,  our 
relations,  Don  Matteo  Tafuri,  and  his  wife  {nata  Monit- 
tola).  Having  spent  some  days  in  Rome,  my  sister  fell 
sick  with  the  Roman  fever;  we  all  felt  very  much 
alarmed  ;  but  thanks  to  God  and  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 


490  ^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

Mary,  and  to  the  kindness  and  constant  attention  of 
Prof.  Chevalier  David  Lupo,  M.D.,  to  whom  here  I 
offer  my  sincere  thanks,  she  recovered  sufficiently  to 
travel  to  Naples,  where,  by  the  change  of  air,  she  en- 
tirely regained  her  health. 

After  some  weeks  in  Naples,  my  cousin,  Gualtiero 
Rospini,  came  to  Naples  to  take  my  sister  and  niece  to 
Gallipoli,  and  after  three  weeks  I  returned  myself;  my 
other  cousin,  Sig.  De  Donatis,  met  me  in  Lecce,  and 
we  went  to  the  villa  of  my  brother,  Felice,  where  they 
were  in  villeggiatura.  Having  spent  some  weeks  in 
this  charming  villa,  close  to  the  village  of  St.  Nicola,  in 
company  of  my  brother's  family,  that  is,  his  wife,  Fer- 
dinanda,  and  her  sister,  Giovannina,  and  my  nieces,  we 
all  returned  to  Gallipoli. 

The  weather  was  terribly  hot,  and  I  suffered  much 
from  the  intensity  of  the  heat,  caused  by  a  blazing  sun 
under  a  metallic  sky,  which  for  months  and  months  had 
not  given  a  drop  of  rain.  The  water  of  the  sea  was  so 
warm  that  bathing  gave  no  refreshment.  I  enjoyed 
myself  much  at  the  celebration  of  the  festival  of  Saint 
Cristina,  which,  for  eight  days,  was  performed  with 
great  splendor  and  solemnity ;  it  was,  however,  a  poor 
substitute  for  the  few  years  ago  abolished  festival  of  the 
Visitation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  2d  of  July;  a 
substitute  which  does  not  correspond  to  the  grandeur, 
fame,  and  devotion  of  that  solemnity  celebrated  under 
the  name  of  the  Madonna  del  Canncto,  or  Santa  Maria 
del  Canneto,  so  called,  because  the  miraculous  image 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  found  in  a  canneto  (field  of 
reeds)  in  that  locality.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  such 
a  festival  was  abolished.  Those  clumsy  buildings 
erected  in  the  locality  where  that  great  fair  was  once 
held,  and  those  cumbersome  piles  of  staves,  are  of  no 
ornament  to  the  city ;  they  spoil  the  view  of  the  same, 


LIBERAL  FRANCE  ! 


491 


and  there  was  no  call  for  such  trash,  now  that  a  suburb 
is  rising  a  short  distance  from  it. 

The  time  approaching  for  my  returning  to  the  United 
States  of  America,  accompanied  by  my  brother  Felice 
and  my  two  nieces,  Checchina  and  Celestina,  I  left  for 
Naples,  where  we  spent  about  one  month.  At  the 
commencement  of  October  I  left  for  Rome,  to  pay  my 
last  visit  to  His  Holiness  Pius  IX.,  and  to  His  Emi- 
nence Cardinal  Alexander  Franchi,  who  urged  my  re- 
turn to  America.  Then  I  left  for  Paris.  In  crossing 
from  Italy  into  France  through  the  famous  tunnel  of 

Moimt     Cents,    I 
^"  w-  missed  the  grand- 

eur of  the  Alps, 
which  at  other 
times  I  had  en- 
joyed before  the 
perforation  of 
that  mountain. 
It  is  true  some 
glaciers,  some 
high  peaks,  and  some  wild  scene- 
ry arc  observed,  but  that  is 
nothing  in  comparison  to  Mount 
Ccnis  when  crossed  by  stage- 
coach. I  took  my  jjassage  for 
Xcw  Yr)rk  in  the  line  of  the  Conipag)iii'  General  Trans- 
at  [antique,  whose  boats  sail  from  Ha\rc  ever)-  week  ;  ten 
[)cr  cent,  discount  is  allowed  to  missionaries  of  every 
nation,  but  I  was  obliged  to  pay  the  full  fare;  so  much 
for  the  liberality  of  PVancc  !  In  order  to  get  this  scanty 
discount  it  was  necessary  to  go  by  the  s'econd  class,  as 
is  the  case  with  Messa^cries.  I  paid  tlie  full  fare,  and  I 
went  by  the  first  class,  and  remained  under  no  obligation 
to  France.    What  a  difference  between  France  and  Italy ! 


492  A    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

In  the  company  of  several  other  passengers  I  left 
Paris  for  Havre,  where  we  arrived  late  in  the  evening, 
the  eve  of  sailing.  I  arranged  my  baggage,  and  went 
to  my  state-room,  where  I  left  all  that  I  needed  in  it 
and  gave  the  key  to  the  waiter.  Not  being  able  to  get 
any  supper  on  board  the  steamer,  I  was  obliged  to  go 
into  the  city,  where  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  hotel.  The 
night  was  dark,  and  the  city  not  well  lighted.  Finally 
I  found  an  establishment  like  a  hotel,  after  having  in- 
quired of  half  a  dozen  persons.  There  I  got  something 
called  soupe  (supper),  and  hastened  to  the  boat.  But, 
lo  !  I  could  not  get  into  my  state-room.  All  had  gone 
away  except  two  or  three  hands  ;  perhaps  they  had 
<^one  to  visit  their  relations  and  friends.  It  took  some 
time  before  I  could  have  access  to  my  state-room,  the 
same  being  the  case  with  the  other  passengers. 

Next  morning,  Saturday,  VvC  started  from  Havre  ; 
v/hile  we  were  in  the  British  Channel  (La  Manche)  the 
weather  was  fine  and  the  sea  calm,  but  before  reaching 
Plymouth  in  England  it  v/as  blowing  a  gale,  with 
heavy  rain.  La  France  (that  was  the  name  of  the  boat) 
anchored,  and  stopped  till  next  morning.*  I  sent  some 
letters  to  Italy  and  America.  At  about  9  o'clock  A.M. 
we  started  again  ;  the  storm  was  increasing,  and  we  had 
a  very  rough  and  stormy  passage  till  our  arrival  at  New 
York.  Only  a  few  days  could  I  go  to  table  to  eat  my 
meals,  which  I  generally  took  in  my  state-room.  There 
was  a  good  number  of  first  class  passengers.  There 
were  also  five  French  priests,  all  in  the  second  class, 
according  to  the  liberal  regulations  of  P^'ancc.  The 
commissaire,  a  very  good  Catholic,  gave  us  always  fish 
on   P^-iday,  and  on  the  vigil  of  All-Saints'  Day,  which 


*  I  understand  that  this  line  of  boats  does  not  continue  lo  call  at 
Plymouth. 


Castle  of  Sav  Anoki.o. 


DISA  PPOINTMEMT. 


493 


was  remarkable  as  being  a  calm  and  fine  day.  The 
priests  requested  me  to  be  so  kind  as  to  celebrate  Mass 
on  All-Saints'  Day,  as  none  of  them  had  power  to  cele- 
brate on  the  sea.  The  commissaire  and  nearly  all 
manifested  the  same'desire  :  a  gentleman,  a  native  of 
Dalmatia,  came  to  me  earnestly  requesting  me  to  allow 
him  the  privilege  to  hear  Mass  on  such  a  great  day. 
I  told  him  that  all  could  come  and  hear  Mass.     The 


NIGHT    AT    SEA. 


captain  gave  the  first-class  passengers  the  saloon  to  be 
converted  into  a  church,  and  the  commissaire  sent  a 
carpenter  and  two  waiters  to  me  to  work  the  formation 
of  an  altar.  It  was  all  done,  and  I  prepared  all  vest- 
ments (which  I  had  with  me),  altar  bread,  and  wine. 
There  was  a  provincial  of  some  religious  order,  and  a 
priest  bcl(jnging  to  the  same  ;  both  asked  to  serve  my 
Mass,  and  two  others  were  appointed  to  hold  the  chalice. 


494  ^^    TOUR  IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES. 

But  the  judgments  of  God  are  difYerent  from  those 
of  men.  In  the  night  a  brisk  wind  arose,  the  sea  be- 
came troubled,  and  I  got  up  sea-sick.  I  could  not 
stand  on  my  feet  ;  yet  there  were  priests  enough  to 
hold  me.  I  went  into  the  saloon,  and  tried  to  see  how 
I  could  stand  on  my  feet  at  the  altar.  I  had  not 
stopped  five  minutes  thus  before  a  movement  of  the 
stomach  made  me  run  into  my  state-room.  The  wind 
was  on  the  increase,  and  the  sea  likewise.  I  tried  again 
and  again,  and  every  time  I  felt  worse,  till  I  was  near 
throwing  up.  I  tell  you  that  I  never  endeavored  in  my 
missionary  life  to  endure  so  much  and  make  efforts  in 
order  to  say  Mass,  as  I  did  on  that  All-Saints'  Day. 
I  called  the  commissaire  and  told  him  that  I  was  very 
sea-sick  and  unable  to  say  Mass.  He  notified  the  oth- 
ers, who  felt  very  bad  at  being  deprived  of  the  benefit 
of  Mass  on  All-Saints'  Day.     I  took  some  coffee. 

The  wind  continued  to  increase  to  a  gale,  and  to  a 
severe  storm,  which  must  have  wrecked  many  ves- 
sels, from  the  planks,  boats,  and  other  wrecks  which 
we  passed  for  some  days.  Many  vessels,  bottom  up, 
were  observed.  One  ship  appeared  to  sink  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  captain  signaled  it,  and  made  everything 
ready  to  scale  it.  When  close  to  it  no  person  was  to 
be  seen ;  the  vessel  was  full  of  water,  one  mast  was 
floating  on  the  sea,  but  by  a  rope  was  yet  held  to  the 
ship ;  the  other  mast  was  broken  in  the  middle  and 
hanging  on  the  ship,  and  a  small  sail  fastened  to  the 
jibboom.  All  boats,  except  one,  were  gone,  and  the 
sea  was  washing  on  deck.  The  steamer  went  around 
this  shij)  twice,  and  blew  the  whistle,  in  order  to  see 
whether  anybody  sick  or  half-starved  was  inside  unable 
to  come  up  ;  but  being  satisfied  that  no  living  creature 
was  in  it.  La  France  continued  to  steer  for  New  York, 
where  we  arrived  on  the  following  Sunday  morning. 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Abimec 8 

Aborigines  of  America   397 

Aborigines  of  India  459 

-Acheen ■■  275 

Adam's  Pick 279.  282 

Aden 46" 

Adulis.    (^>cZoulla) 470 

^olus,  yEolia;   4S5 

Aghni 432 

Agra 366,367 

Agricultural  Exliibition  at  Sandhurst  144 

Airavati   421 

Aireskui  sutanditeur 14 

Akaba 473 

Akbar 360,  366 

Albany  Island 162 

Albatross 10^ 

Albertis,  Count 166,  168 

Alfores 175 

Aliditi 276 

Algonquin i4i  39 

Allahabad 359 

Alleghany 4 

AUighur 371 

Alma..   431 

Almorah 371 

Alvaro i2g 

Amanda....    .      436 

Amer  (great  and  small  Bitter  Lake)..  479 

American  Missionaries ..  297 

Ananta 332 

Angor. 2;,3 

Angar   _ 431 

Ann  Alice         67 

Anna  (a  coin) 349 

Annasatras 447 

An  old  Friend  (Father  L.  De  Govea)  247 

Antiquity  of  Benares 355 

Antonini,  F.  M 246 

Arafiira   174 

Areca  (nut) 328 

Arnheini 131 

A  run  ... . 435 

Arrow  River  and  Lake   32 

A.soka,  Emperor 2S6 

Asoka.  pillar   376 

Assassinations  by  Mormoni 68 

Atooi 100,  119 

.A  um 422 

A,  U,  M    431 

Bapel,  ... 399 

Baboo   319 

Babylon 399 

Bagdad     401 

Baggage  51 

Bad       arrangement  ;      lost  ; 

found 307 


I  P.AGR 

Bali  Island     174,   1 75 

Bali 449 

Ballah  Lake   4S  i 

liangkok 256 

Banians 427 

Barren  spiritual  harvest 345 

Bar.santi,  Rev.  Dr ..    121,  147,   i;o 

Bastinading.    227 

Batavia iSo 

Bathurst 154 

Island 174 

Baudin ._ 131 

Bawaney,  Bhavani 432,  434 

BayofFundy   i 

:  Beas  Hyphasis 392 

Belus 400 

Belly-god 311 

Benares  Hotel   346 

Bentotte  Hotel    2S0 

Best  Hotel  in  China 2o3 

Betel  Leaves   328 

Bhairava 422 

j  Bhikshu-grihas   446 

j  Bisheshar  (or   Shi\a)  Bishesharnath, 

(Jnlden  Temple  of  Shiva.  .. .       350,  351 

Black  Hills 62 

Black  Col 82 

Blue  Hills 131 

.  Bocaa-Tigris 205 

Bodhisatwas 411 

i  Bogues 205 

Bon.bay 345,  406 

Bony,    (i'd'?  Macassar) 176 

I  Bonzes 212,214 

1  Booby  Island ..      174 

j  Boomerang 131 

Borneo 187 

Botany  Bay   131,  150 

Botticelli,  Count 289 

Bi  ttle-tree 147 

\  Bougainville 166 

Bowen,  Governor ..     143 

t  Steamboat 155 

'  Port 165 

Brahma   358,  428,  <34 

Brahman   286 

I  Brahmanisni 347,  421 

I  Brahmapootra  (sacred  river) 371 

Braktan 472 

I'.ridkal 352 

Bri,i;ham  Young 67,  75 

Brisbane 154,  157 

Buddha 232 

Nunnerv  of  Buddhists   223 

Buddha's  tooth ...     2S5 

Temples 203 

Postures 237,  284,  285 

Convents   210,  2ii,  312 

(495) 


49^ 


IXDEX. 


PAGE 

Buddha — Buddhibin 232 

Xot  satisfactory,  and  Athe- 
ism   236 

Bungalow.    301 

Bungkal 191 

Bunya-Bunya  (pine) 158 

Bushire  (Persia) 384 

Bussora 395 

BycuUa 417 


Caaba.     (iV*- Kaaba)   

Cakabau 

Calcutta 

California 

Calabria  (coasts) 

Camala 

Cambodia  River       

Camoens 

Camp  Douglas 

Carapanella  (Bunta  della)... 

Campobello   

Cam  pongs   

Canada       

Canal  of  the  Faithful 

of  the  Kings 

Cangue 

Cani,  Very  Rev 

Cannibals    

Canon ....  

Canton — city,  river,  etc 194- 

Cape  Horn  Station   

Capri  I  slan  d 

Carnatic   ..    320, 

Caroline  Islands     

Carpentaria     145, 

Carticeya 

Caste   

Distinctions    

easterns,  Jans. 

Catamaran  ...    97,  i  'Oi 

Cat"s  Eye  (stone)   

Cathei,  or  Catheri.     (See  Katry)   ... 

Cathedral  Mosque 

Catholicity  and  Buddhism.. 
Catholic  Priests  wanted  by  Indians. 

Cattle  (,a  weight) 

Cava 

Cavaleva  (trees) 

Cayan  (measure) 

Celebes     

Sea 

Centennial  Exhibition 

Ceylon,  Remarks  on 284, 

Chaldsea      ' 

Chandata  (caste) 

Thandare   

Chaplains    ... 

Char>-bdis     

Chatarbhujik^r 

Chenab  (.Acesines)  

C  lester,  Capt.  and  Mrs 

Cheyenne   

Indians 

Chignecto  Channel  and  tide 

China,  History  

Chinese  Physique 

Feeding,      Markets,     Tem- 
ples, etc  194, 

Funeral 

Deforming  the  Feet . .      ..    . 

and  Malay  Pirates 


Chippeway  Indians  13 

Village ao,     2j 

Choukra  (hall) 30} 

Cinnamon 252 

Cicero's  prayer  14 

City  of  .Sydney  (boat)    107 

City  of  Rams.     (.SV^  Canton) 194 

Colaba 416 

Colombo 280,  291,  29S 

Cholera   293 

Columbian  Fur  Co 58 

Falls   56 

Colvillea  Rossemasa .     255 

Coraorin,  Cape 302,  305 

Cochin  China   250 

Concordat  with  Portugal 261 

Conductor  of  the  C.  P.  K.  R   ...    ...       78 

Confirmatio.i  in  Singapor.    {See  Sin- 

gapor) 183 

Confucius   220 

Temple 222-228 

Cooktown  Bay 154 

Cook,  Capt...   , 97,103,  154 

Coral  Sea 162 

Corea   loS 

Council  Bluffs 57 

Cawnpore 360 

Crane,  Rt.  Rev 144 

Cric  (a  poisoned  weapon) 275 

Crook,  General    44,  48 

Crossing  the  Line   ..    103,  182 

Crossing  the  Sun     105,    163 

Cubera 432 

Curry 19^ 

Custer's  Troop's  Massacre 44,  48 

Cyaxares   ....    233 

Cyclone  in  Bengal  Sea   192 

Dagoba  (temple) .  2Si 

Dahcota  Indians. .     ..    39- 49i  5i 

Dakshswar  (temple) 355 

Dalada  (;temple)    ...  284 

Dance  of  the  Natives  of  Cochin  China  254 

Dance  (Sacred)  "                 "            "  313 

Dancing  Girls  of                  "'            "'  313 

Dandavani          2S5 

Daniel's  Tomb 398 

Darham,  Rajah 435 

Death-adder 133 

De  Couto,  .Account  of  the  Caves...  413 

De  Govea,  Padre 247 

De  Laperouse.     (.^^"^  Laperouse) . . . .  153 

De  Lessep? 476 

Delhi -  ..   372,  3-2 

De  Mendana  Alvaro  129 

D'F.ntrecastreaux 117 

De  Meteros,  Padre 246 

De  Quiro,  Fernandez 129 

Desniet 45 

Detroit   5 

Deus  Ignotus   14 

Deva-Bodhisatua 232 

Devadasa  (city  of  Kasi) 355 

Devi  (idol) 264 

Devotees   455 

Devil's  Gate ..  64 

Dewandra   43a 

Dewan-i-am    .^66 

De  Witt    131 

Dewul 445 

Dharmashilis 447 


IXDEX. 


497 


PAGE 

Dhuluk  (.instrument) ...  314 

Dibble-Dibble 136 

Dindigul 315 

Discussion  with   the  French   Consul 

on  board  a  steamer 251 

Divaci   ...        436 

DoniiA(ric-) 353 

Doit   igo 

Doyle,  Mr 73 

Duluth     .  32 

Durga  (Durga-Kund)  goddess  .  .   355,  434 

Dutch 13' 

E.ASTPORT I 

Ekaentaton.  {See  Manitulin  Islands). 

Ekiam 446 

Elephants  (sacred)        311 

Elephanta  excavations 418 

Embarkation  for  Tulicorin  ;  the  con- 
tinent of  India 299 

Emperor's  Tablet  venerated  by  pros- 
tration before  it 221 

Empress'  Hotel 161 

Endeavour  (ship) 163 

(river) .....  104 

Entrecasteaux 131 

Episcopalian  Ministers  not  wanted  .,  41 
forced  on  them 

and   paid 42 

Errors  about  Buddhism 233 

Essenes 235 

Eswara 432 

Ethnological  similarity  of  Indians...  457 

Etienne  Annaotaha 9 

Etna 483 

Euphrates 397 

Railroad 404 

Eurarian 337 

Evans   ......           '3' 

Examination  Hall     ..            22S 

Excursion  to  Keewenaw  Point,  Lake 

Superior.     24 

Experience  in  a  night-car 333 

Ezechiel's  Tomb 406 


Famine  in  Indi.a    337  et  passim. 

Father  of  the  Korests 81 

Fernando,  Rev.  C.  J.  B 288 

Festival  of  the  Mohammedan's   339 

Fiji  Islands 93,  109 

Fire  Alarm 102 

Fire  Temple 417 

First  Oil  Well 4 

Fitzpatrick,  Very  Rev     140 

Five  ( ienii  Hall  (legend)   222 

Five-story  Pagoda...          223 

Flamingo    4  ^3 

Flores  Island 17'j 

Sea 192 

Flowery  Pagoda 222 

Fo         .. 234 

Forrest,  Rev.  Dr 121 

Fort  Wiliirim 30 

Fort  Garry    30 

Fort  Charlotte 32 

Fort  W'.triier     44 

F(jur  Horns  Indian* 46 

Frasi-r's  Island i'''3 

Friendly  Islands 106,  129 

Futtchporc  Sikri    ...    3''i 

Fund-du  I-ac  Landing 32 


Gan.a.s 

Ganapati 

Ganges 343, 

Gaomtee   ... 

Gap  South-head  in  Sydney 

Garden  of  Eden 364, 

Garden  Village  

Garora   

Garuda  

Gava 

Georgian  Bay   

Gente  Hermosa  Island 

Ghari     

Ghauts   

(ihurkas 

(uhello.     (6"^^  Etna) 

Gilolo   

Goa ...   264, 

God  Jess  of  Mercy's  Hill 

Goderich  

God-monkey 

Gold  first  discovered   

Gold  not  wanted 

Golden  Gate 

Gopa .' 

Gopia   

Gowery 

Gould,  Most  Rev 

Grand  Manhan  Island   

Grant  ..... 

Grasshoppers 

Great  Wall    

Grotta  Azurra   

Grotto  of  Camoens 

Guardafiii,  Cape 

Gujerattee  (language) 

Gull  Island _.  . . 

Gwadur — town  and  telegraph  station 
in  Persia . 

Gyan-Bapi.  (See  Well  of  Knowl- 
edge)  

Gymnosophists 

Hainan  Island 

Hall  of  One  Thousand  Pillars   

Hallilah  (Persia) 

Hammond  Island  

Harafoes.     (See  -Arafura) 

Haiiuman '. 

Harbor-de-Lute   

Harbor  of  Sj'dney 

Hartog,  or  Hatick's  Dirk 

Hary 

H.assan-El-Medini  (Judge) 

Hawaiian  Islands 

Hawaii,  or  Huahai 

Haj  agriva  (giant) , 

H  egi  ra 

Herder 

Herodotus 

Hillah 

lliraalayah  Mountains 

Hindoo  Legend 

Hindoo  University 

Religion.. 

Hirany-.ikishna  (giant).    

HclKirl  Town    

Hobson's  I'.ay   

IL.nan 

Hcng  Kong 

H'iiiululu    "JSi  0^1 


AGS 

421 
421 
346 

363 

119 

396 

27 

433 
421 
421 

7 
106 
346 
304 
371 
4S3 
192 
267 
222 

6 
322 


440 
434 
148 
2 
131 

56 
241 
487 
248 
466 
449 

27 


35' 
23+ 

452 

33' 

394 

19 

264 


131 
433 
37" 
97 
100 
43' 
473 
404 

233 
30'> 
3^6 
433 


126 
128 
205 
199 
99 


498 


INDEX. 


Hoogly 341 

Hudson  Bay  Company 31 

Hopkinson's  Mysterious  Coffee 182 

Humboldt  River 78 

Humajoon's  Tomb 376 

Huon  Tree 128 

Hurd,  Cape 7 

Huron  Lake,  Indians 6 

Hydroates.     (See  Ravee). 


Illawaara-box 

Imassi,  Rev.  John 

Imaumbarra   ... 

Imann.  Sultan  of  Muscatt 

Incarnations  >{  Vishnu 313, 

Indian  Island 

Religion 

Chiefs. 

Indians  acquainted  with  the   Ritual 

ofthejews 

Indus         

Navigation 

Indra 431, 

Indrapresttha,Inderpnt.  (.9^^  Delhi). 
Inscriptions  on  the  Kootub  Minar.. 
Inspection  of  Baggage  at  Duluth  . .   . 

Insulae  Numero  XIX 

Iron  Pillar 

Iowa       

Iroquois 7, 

Isle  Royale 

Island  World 

Island  appears  and  disappears 

Ismailia 

Iswara       

Italy,  Visit  to 

Jack,  Capt .... 

What  a  Priest  said  of  him 

Jains   428, 

Jama  (robe) 

Jamot,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Francis,  Bish- 
op of  Northern  Canada 

James,  Dr.,  murdered  by  the  canni- 
bals of  New  Guinea 

Java 174, 

Jehangeer,  Emp.  (See  Shah  Durer). 

Jhelum  (Hydaspes)    

Joe  Smith,  Mr 

Jonah's  Tomb 

Joss-house 87, 

Judgment  Hall  224. 

Jumna  .Musjid   

River  

or  Jurama 

Junk     ,  _ 

Jurisdiction,  Trouble  for 

Kaaba  

Kaamanu  

Kaiserback  (Caesar's  Garden)   

Kakombau 

Kali   

Kalpa 

Kama-Diva 436, 

Kamehameha 

Kandawa f>3, 

Kandy   2S1, 

Kanhery  Caves     

Kanniah  (Thief  caste) 

K  an  sas 


233 
371 
391 
432 

380 

32  j 
277 
378 

.16 
9 

27 
129 


171 

178 

392 
71 
404 
210 
226 
362 
362 
368 
204 

2fo 

472 
4c.  I 
362 
112 

344 
433 
440 
100 

lOQ 


PAGE 

Kantara 481 

Kapilavastu 2S5 

Karli         .      .    41a 

Katakakooa 100 

Katry  (tribe) 390 

Kauikeaouli loi 

Kauri  ipine) 127 

Kebla 472 

Keewenau.  Point 24 

Keran  (a  coin) 395 

Ketchi  Manitu 7 

Khoonds 429 

King  George's  Sound ...  146 

King's  Palace 309 

Kinkardine   6 

Kin-Shan           202 

Koh-i-noor  (diamond) 389 

Kooroos 435 

Kootub  Minar  376 

Grounds... 380 

Kornah  (Eden)         396 

Krishena,  or  Krishen 436 

Krishnu 440 

Kulin 454 

Kurachi,  or  Kurrachi 391 

Kwong-hou  Temple  222 

Kwong-chau-fu 225 

Kygan 228 

Labuan....    193 

Lacadive  Islands   277 

Lachmi  (a  goddess) 349)433 

Ladrones  Islands     130,  172 

Lahore         388 

Lake  of  the  Sweet  Water 6 

Lakemba  Island log 

Lallemant,  P'r.  Gabriel 7 

Lama 234 

Landing  at  Naples 487 

Lanka 422 

Lansell,  Mr.  George 142 

Laos 257 

Laperouse,  John  F.  G.  De 153 

La  Peyrouse 131 

Laramie 63 

Lean  Bear  Chief 52 

Lecuwin 131 

Lepers 247 

Letter  on  Priesthood 149 

Levucka 112 

Lingam 310,  437 

Lipari  Island 485 

Lishai — snake  god 379 

Loa 99 

Lord  Howe  Island 118 

Lost  Check 77 

Lotus  (golden"!   ...           309 

Lucey,  Rev.  Michael 2 

Lucky  Mistake j6i 

Lucknow 360 

Lunar  Race 453 

Lusiad 448 

Maagrammum.     (5ftf  Kandy) 281 

McG!ynn,D.  C t<> 

Macaa     . .             175 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral 250 

^L^ccassar 17*^' 

Mackinac   8 

-Mackinaw 13 

-Macorabba.     {See  Mecca  1    471 


INDEX. 


499 


Madonna  del  Cannelo   490 

Madras  Hotel 341,  337 

Madura 307,  315 

Island 178 

Dinner,  Night  178 

Maenoher 436 

Magellan,  Fernando 03 

Magoda,  or  Makata 386 

Mahadeo  (serpent  god) 353 

Mahadoe,    vel  MaUadeve,   vel  Ma- 

hadava 264,  436 

Mahakaya 232 

Maha-Devah 434 

Maharajah  Rama  Warma 305 

Mahas,  or  Omaha  Indians 58 

Mahratta  Rajah 323 

Palace 329 

Makata 232 

Malabar,  Catholic,  and  troubles 317 

Malacca  Straits,  City 276 

Malay. ...      124,  271,  272 

Maldive  Islands Ibidem. 

Malli  City 390 

Maming 232 

Mandiram 442 

Manes         214 

Manikarniki  (well) 352 

Manitoba 36 

Manilla  193 

Manila  Island .  27 

Manitulin  Island 7 

Man-Mandil  Observatory 347 

Mansarawar  Lake 371 

Maories   124 

March  (is  12  to  15  miles) 387 

Mark   445 

Marco  Polo         , 220,  403 

Mariana  Islands  129 

Maril 432 

Mariposa  Trees     82 

Marquesas  Islands    129 

Marquette       22 

Marriage  in  India 451 

Martinierre  College 363 

Mass  in  Lake  Superior         27 

at  the  Equator 265 

Maui  (Mouree;  Island 100 

Maya 436 

M  azasha 52 

Meat-market 139 

Mecca  471 

Medina .         .  472 

McDewakantonN  Indians ..    .  50 

Meera^en  dancers    314 

Meeting  steamer  City  of  Sydney   .  .  106 

Men  of  War  (bird)             1S3 

Men,  or  People,  with   Tails 166 

Mekong.     (.S>(?  Cambodia) 253 

Melbourne ...  139 

Mendota 50 

Men/i  Hotel 13S 

Meria  Grove 430 

Messina 485 


Mesopotamia   

Mha-oba  fgod) 

Mi<;hi>;:.n      _.    

Mithilirnakinac,  or  Machinaw 

.Miller,  Capt..       

Minakslii  (temple) 

Mines,   .Mining;    the  author   t 
into  a   miner . . 


3P9 

3o'3 


Minneapolis 37 

Minnehaha 37 

Minnesota     33 

River 37,  54 

Miocene 8a 

Mirage 479 

Missionary  Work 136,  137 

Ship   166 

Missing  Cook 267 

Mississippi  Kiver   37 

Missouri  River   37 

Moa   .    .      124 

Island 174 

Mocha 470 

Modoc  Indian 43,   44 

Moghuls   369 

Mogol 382 

Mohammedan  Procession 339 

Mohammedanism     345 

Mohun 436 

Mohur  (coin) 247,  350 

Mohurrum 339,  344 

Monkey  Temple 355 

Monks   212 

Moluccas       129,174,  183 

Monongahela   4 

Month  of  May 140 

Monsoon 93 

Mooltan   390 

Morais 125 

Moreton  Bay 156 

Mormons 67 

Resistance    to   the   United 

States'  troops 70 

Mosul 403 

Motee  Musjid.     {See  Pearl  Mosque).  366 

Mother  of  Pearls  Fishery ...  173 

Moukt        436 

Motina  Roa,  Mouna  Kea gS    99 

Mount  Desert.         2 

Muchee  Bowhaii 367 

Mugillibeh           399 

Mulatto  .Ministers.     (5V?  Negro)   ...  468 

Muscat  (in   .Arabia) .  393 

Miisjeed  of  Aurungzebe  (a  mosque) . .  356 

Mutrah.     (See  .Muscat) 393 


.ABOB  OF  THK  C.MJN.-XTIC 

aduessiou.t,  Naduessi     

ana  Sahib   

pies         

apoleon  I.  at  Midnight  Mass. 

ative  Missionaries 

atuna  Island 

avigation  of  the  Red  Sea..    .  . 

vigator's  I -elands,  .. .      .... 

rad  MunKidol)    

braska 


et;io  Missii>naries 

Icdoiiia 

ew  Hritain ,   ... 

Ireland 

ew  <  luiiiea . 

Holland^ 

ew  South  Wales 

w  Zceland 

w  kind  of  Altar  Bread 

-obar  Islands 

iiiiroiid 


ipissing  Lake . 


320 

38 
300 
4S7 
253 
467 

193 
469 
106 
354 

5^ 
463 

I"7 
t68 
16S 
107 
130 


25.5 
276 
404 
400 


500 


INDEX. 


Nirurdi  432 

Nookee 117 

Norfolk  Island 117 

Norther  Pacific  Railroad  36 

Nugget,  The  welcome 139 

Numea   117 

Nuyt's  Land 145 

Nyts 131 


Oahu 

Observatory   

Ochente  Shakoans  

Ogden 

Ohio 

Oigasayfe 

Oki I 

O'm.    {See  Aum) 

Omaha 57 

Omm-Alcora 

Ondinnonk   

Ontario  steamer 

Dining-room 

Ophir.. 

Oramlai  (Malays) 

Orientals  inclined  to  solitary  life  ... 

Origin  of  the  trouble 

Original  Languages 

Ormuz  (in  Persia) 

Otaheite 

Ottawas 

Ottomacs  

Oude 

Ovalau  

Owyhee 


99 

347 

39 

76 

4 

iS 

6,  17 

431 
,  etc. 


Pacific  Ocean 9^ 

Central  R.R 58 

Padurbati   .    , 432 

Palibrotha,  w^/ Palibothra    360 

Panama  line  of  boat 126 

Pandurara 439 

Pandoos 435 

Pandyan  Kings   307 

Paramatta  River...   155 

Paria  (a  caste)   459 

Parsee     424 

Marriage 417 

Religion    .  .     428 

Parvati,  7iel  Parvati    331,  ei  J>asshn. 

Passamaquoddy  Indians  i 

Passage  Island 27 

Papuas   124,  i68 

Paradise  (terrestrial) 364,  396 

Patalas     432 

Patanadevi 344 

Pathan  Architecture 381 

Patna   ... 443 

Patriarch  of  liagdad 402 

Peacock  Throne   374 

Pearl  Mosque.     {See  Motee  Musjid).     366 

I'edma .......     434 

Pedro  (Dom)  Emperor  of  Brazil.  74 

i'enang .  .    . .      1S7,  271 

Pentapotamia.    (^i-^  Punjab)   ...  38S,  392 

Perim  Island  468 

Perth 146 

Petra .     473 

I'ettah .    280,  2SS 

Philadelphia     ..  2 

Exhibition 3 

I'liillippine  Islands   130,  772 


Phusa.     (JV*  Maming) 232 

Pice  (coin)   ... ,   343 

Picul  (a  weight) iqi 

Pie  Island j» 

Pi'grims  35; 

Pilot  Canoes. 278 

Pilot   78 

Piombina.... 36 

Pion     210 

Pishachas  (natives) 306 

Pithora,  Fort 381 

Pitt,  Fort   4 

Pittsburg 3 

Pliocene    82 

Point  Danger 156 

Point  de  Salle 278,  280 

Pointers         107 

Polding,  Most  Rev.  John  B   148 

Policeman 266 

Polyne.oia 130 

Polynesian  Islands    98 

Polyandry  in  Ceylon 296 

Pomolo 112 

Pooja-V 439,  445 

Popo  s  Nose I 

Porcelain   216 

Port  Den  ison 163 

Said 482 

Phillip 128 

Portuguese  Missions 258 

Portuguese 131 

Pracrit  (a  language) 449 

Prairie  Dogs'  city 61 

Prakvity 435,  438 

Prayaga  . .            360 

Prince  Arthur's  Landing 29 

Prince  of  Wales  Island 273 

Prisons 225 

Povano,  Fr 226 

Monument 231 

Public  Dinner  at  Sandhurst 14s 

Pulpit  Rock   63 

Piilo-Penang.     (.S>(?  Penang) 187 

Punda,  owner  of  the  Scivala 350 

Punjab 288,  393 

Punkha   189 

Puranas 428 

QuANG-TONG.    {See  CznVon) 194 

Quebec    7 

Queensland 153,  157 

Queen  Saba 232 

QueertWictoria  crowned  Empress  of 

India     .      .     383 

Queen's  Hotel    161 

(^iiinn,  Rt.  Rev.  Matthew 156 

Rt.  Rev.  James 158 

Rajah  Daksh, Rajah  of  the  Himalajas  354 
Rajah  crowns  the  author  ;   Palace  of 

the  Rajah  ;  reception 325 

Rajputs          453 

Rama  Rameshwaram   316 

Ramsey,  Governor 49 

Ravana 422 

Ravee  Hydroates 388 

Red  I'eietta  in  India 302 

Red  Cloud 38 

Iron,   speech 49 

River  29,  40 

Sea      466,  475 


INDEX. 


501 


I'AGE 

Reformation  expected 150 

Religion  of  the  Hindoos 428 

Horrible  Religion  429 

Reservoir  of  the  Temple 350 

Rettjr   436 

Ricci  Fr.'s  Monument  231 

Rich     4°3 

Rihoriho,  King; ...  100 

Rine  (or  Rene)   Guillelraine,    Right 

Rev 2iS,  229 

Rocky  Mountains 62 

Rome 489 

Round  Dance  of  the  natives  of  Cochin 

China,    (^f?  Dance) 254 

Royal  Palace  Fort ■ 373 

Rum  in  the  Missions 137 

Runjeet  Singh 388 

Rupee  (coin) 280 


Sacramento  

Sacred  Pigs  

Saigon 

Salsette  Island 

Salt  Lake 

City  

Sambawa,  Sambavawa 176, 

Samoa  (Swai)  Island 106, 

Sampan 

San  Francisco 

Sanciano  Island 

Sandhurst 

Sand-Storm   

Sandwich  Islands     

Sanichar  (planet  Saturn)   

Sankata  Devi  (temple). called  also  Sid- 

heswari  Sankh  (horn) 

Santo  Spirito   

Sarnia 

Saniath  (ruins  of  a  monastery) 

Saskatchawan   

Sati  (goddess) 

Sati  (human  sacrifice) 

Sault  Ste.  Marie 19, 

Sau-tsoi ; 

Scanlon,  Rev.  Lawrence 

Schoolcraft,  Dr 

Scott,  Mr 

Scylla   

Sea  Slug 

Secundra 

Sedasheo  Bhao 

Senecas  Indians 

.Serapeum 

Seriiigham,  island,  temple 

Scraswaty 

Serenib  (supposed  to  be  Ceylon)  .... 

Serpent  god 

.Servants  in  India 

Sesha   

Shadock   

."^hah-Dura  (mausoleum)     

Shahjuha-Nabob.  {Sie  Pearl  mosque) 

Shanial  (wind  in  Persia) 

Shameen    


Shangti  (idol) 
Sham   


Shat-el-.\rab  (river)      

Shepherd's  Hotel 

Sherman 

Shish  Mahal 

Shiva,  or  Siva 331, 


PAGK 

Shivala  (temple) 349 

Siam        251 

Sioux  Indians     38 

City,  Treaty  44 

Sick  Priest     163 

Sicily 484 

Sidheswari.     (6"<'^  San  Kata-Devi) . . .     349 

Singh  (lion)   38S,  3S9 

Sierra  Nevada  79 

Sillani,  Rt.  Rev.  Hillarion 289 

Silly  Vicar  415 

Silver  Island  . .    27 

Simla 396 

Sinai 473 

Singapore 183,  27^ 

Christmas 187 

Confirmation 259 

Sirens 486 

Sissetons  Indians 49 

Sitting  Bull   38 

Speech    48 

Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  at  Kat- 

ahena 292 

Sisterhood  of  Saigon   252 

Smirti 453 

Smooth  Pagoda   221 

Sowakin     ....    467,  470 

Society  Islands   106,   129 

Sour,  or  (uirga.  or  Souras 455 

Socotora  Islands 465 

!  Solar  Race 435 

!  Solomon  Lslands 129 

j  Somerset   165 

Southern  Cross 107 

South  Australia 145 

Southampton     6 

Spark  (steamer) 244 

Sris,  or  Sris    434 

St.  (Catherine 474 

St.  Francis  Xavier 220,230,  245 

Celebration  of  the  Festival,  264,  305 

St.  Clair  River 5,  6 

St.  Francis  Village  and  Tribe 7 

St.  Peter  and   Paul  Village 7 

Ste.  Mary's  l-'ort  and  Hospital 7 

.'-t.  Ignatius  Village 11 

St.  Louis     .... II 

St.  Joseph's  Island 19 

St.  Lawrence 25 

St.  Paul 36 

St.  Anthony 37 

Storm  on  Lake  Superior .       22 

Stannard's  Rock 23 

.Steatine 117 

Stroll  through  Canton    219 

Stromboli 486 

Stobiacu  Convent 155 

Sudrap     _. 428 

Suez  Canal — old  project 474,  475 

S  ugar  1  slan  d ...        20 

Sumatra 187,  274 

Summit  Statioi". 80 

Sunda  Islands 174 

Superior  Lake 8,25 

City 34 

Sweet,  or  Fresh  Water  Canal 481 

Sutley  ( Hesudrns) 393 

Swan  River  Colony 146 

Sydney  106,  120 

Tabl.\  (in^lruinent)    314 


502 


INDEX. 


Taboo 

Tadinums 

Tael   

Takshak 

Tain   

Taj  Mahal,  or  Mehaj 

Talapoins  (legend) 

Tambura 

Taraehameha 

Tamil   , 

Tanbelan 

Tanjore . .  323, 

Palace  of  the  Rajah   

Temple 

Taro  (a  root)   

Tartar  City  (or  part  of  it) 

Tasman 

Tasmania  

Tattooing   

Tauai • 

Taylor,  Mr 172, 

Tazias  (paper  cages) 

Tchou-Koue.     (See  China) 

Temple  of  the  Fire 

Temple  of  Minerva ..    .. 

Temple  of  Horrors 

Temple  of  the  God  ol  Literature. .  . . 

Temple  of  Fecundity   

Temple  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven   ... 

Tepee 

Terra  del  Espiritu  Sancto   .. 

Thakambau 

Therapeutes 

Thugs  (caste  of  Thieves)  ...    316,  320, 

Thunder  Cape,  Bay,   

Thursday  Island     .     

Tide 

Tien 

Tiffin 

Tigris 

Timsih  V ... 

Timor  Sea 

Island 

Toasts  at  Public  Dinner 

Tobin ,  Col 

Tomb  of  Esdra 

Tonkurmenon 

Tonquin .    

Tor 

Torres  Straits 131,166, 

Tower  of  Babel 

Silence 

Trepany  

Tribulation,  Cape  

Trichinopoli 319, 

Trimal  Naik 

Trimurti  (Trinity  of  the  Vedas) 

Trinity  Bay 

Trouble  between  two   parties  of  fish- 
ermen at  Mutmal   

Tuig,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 

Tiilbanof  Peak 

Turanian-Hindoo  Race   

Turonian 

Tuticorin,  Landing  at  


ACE 

125 

45 

223 

233 
241 
364 
234 
176 

98 
315 
193 
331 
329 
324 

99 
224 


100 
229 

339 
241 

417 

186 
225 
229  i 
224 
223 
45 
130 


4 
146 
306 
460 
300 


UlVSSES 486 

Umballa   386 

Uncpapa  Indians .  45 

Union  Pacific  R.R 58 

Unknown  Island 105,  130 

Utah   67 

Utawaks.     {JSee  Ottawa.s)     8 


432' 


Vajoo  . . 

Van  Dieman's  Land 

Vanua-Levu  Island. 

Vasco  de  Gama 

Varoona , 

Vasooda 

Vassan  t 

Vaughan,  Vicar-Gen.  and  Arch-Bish- 
op of  Sydney 148 

Vedas 313 

Vetal's  Worship 

Victoria _ 138,  146,  194. 

Vigilance  Committee  

Viharas 

Village  near  Silver  Island  in  Lake 
Superior 

Visudeva 

Viti-Levu  Island . 

Vulcan iae.     {See  Lipan) 

Vulcano,  or  Vulcan 


434 
129 
112 
332 
435 
435 
436 

153 
34« 
30C 

199 

86 
446 

28 
43IJ 
112 


Waddv 

Wahabee  Mussulman  Conspiracy... 

Walers     

Wampoa. 

V/atta  Island 

Weary  Bay 

Well  of  Knowledge 

Well-house 

Wellesley.     (See  Malacca) 

Wellington  

Wendell  Phillips.... 

Wesleyan  Missionaries  not  wanted.. 

West  Australia 

Whipple,  Bishop's,  letter 

White  Ants 169, 

White  Cloud  Hills  

Wickwemikong  Village 

Widows  in  India 

N\'innebagoes    

Wolves  Islands    

Women  in  India 


135 
344 
157 
205 
175 
163 


276 

126 

48 
112 
146 

53 
.303 
223 

II 
459 

39 
I 

451 


Yantkasamrat  (an  astronomical  in- 
strument)    348 

Yarra-Yarra  River 128 

Yellow  Sea   206 

Yerba  Buena 84 

Yoni 437 

York  Cape 17° 

Yule  Island 171 


Zexd  (a  language) 449 

Zoroaster     ._ 428 

ZouUa  (ancient  Adulis) 470 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


VR  2  4  1944 


AUG  7      195S 


ficholaa  M.  Williama, 
CATHOLIC  BOOKSELLER, 


Ct440 
V64t 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A  A      000  157  547 


